Two UN peacekeepers were killed and several injured early Friday when their convoy hit a landmine in Mali, the United Nations said.
The explosion happened near Douentza in the Mopti region, in central Mali, according to a brief statement from the UN.
The nationalities of the victims have not been released.
Friday’s incident comes less than a week after al-Qaida-linked jihadists killed 10 UN peacekeepers and injured at least 25 others at a United Nations base near Aguelhoc, a village in northern Mali. All 10 of the fatalities were from Chad.
Global Affairs Canada has said no Canadians were involved in that incident, which occurred on Jan. 20.
A total of 189 UN peacekeepers have now been killed in Mali since the mission began in 2013. The UN has stationed 15,000 peacekeepers in the region in an effort to repel several extremist groups linked with al-Qaida and the Islamic State.
WATCH BELOW: Trudeau visits Canadian peacekeeping troops in Mali
Friday’s attack occurred in the far north of Mali, near its border with Algeria. However, most of the attacks over the last year have occurred in the central and southern parts of the country.
Canada has approximately 250 personnel in Mali, at a base in the country’s south. Their one-year mission is to provide round-the-clock medical evacuation services to wounded soldiers in the country.
The Canadian peacekeeping mission is slated to end in July.
0 Comments: