This morning, a MINUSMA logistics convoy hit an Improvised Explosive Device between Douentza and Sévaré on the Nationale Road 16, in Bandiagara region. Seven peacekeepers were killed, and three others seriously injured.

The Special Representative of the UN Secretary General and Head of MINUSMA, Mr. El-Ghassim WANE, strongly condemned this cowardly attack and stresses that it could constitute a war crime under International Law. He offered his deepest condolences to the Government of the deceased Peacekeepers, as well as to their families and brothers in arms, and wished a speedy recovery to the injured.

"This tragedy adds to the macabre tally of attacks against peacekeepers in Mali," said Mr. Wane. Saluting the memory of the seven soldiers who fell today on the field of honour, he recalled that "MINUSMA is the peace operation in which peacekeepers have paid the heaviest price, with more than 200 soldiers killed while performing their duties".

Since the beginning of 2021, dozens of attacks on MINUSMA personnel involving Improvised Explosive Devices have been recorded, killing several Peacekeepers. He stressed that this latest attack, like the others that preceded it, was a further reminder of the urgent need for even greater efforts to stabilize the Central Mali.