The UN stabilization mission in Mali is one of the most dangerous deployments of UN soldiers. Another attack kills soldiers.
Three blue helmets were killed in an attack on a UN convoy in Mali, West Africa. The UN mission Minusma also said that five other soldiers were seriously injured when a vehicle drove over an explosive device near the city of Bandiagara in the center of the country. The country from which the soldiers come was initially not disclosed. As part of the UN stabilization mission, more than 12,000 soldiers are deployed in Mali, including more than 1,100 men and women from the Bundeswehr.
The Germans are mainly deployed near the city of Gao in the northeast of the country. “This is another tragic example of the complexity of our operational environment and the sacrifices made by the international community for peace in Mali,” said Head of Mission and Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General El-Ghassim Wane. Since the mission began in Mali in 2013, 168 peacekeepers have died in hostile actions, Minusma said.
Mali, with around 20 million inhabitants, is considered to be extremely unstable politically. Islamist terrorist groups are also active in parts of the country. Since the most recent coup in May 2021, the country in the Sahel region has been led by the military government of General Assimi Goita. The federal government wants to withdraw the Bundeswehr by May 2024. There have recently been repeated arguments with the Malian government, which has been criticized by Western countries for its close ties with Russia, among other things.
