By Sadiya Hamza
United Nations- UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon, has reiterated the commitment of the United Nations to support the Malian people in their search for peace.
Ban in a statement issued by UN Spokesman, Stephane DuJarric, on Friday in New York, also expressed his profound gratitude to the brave peacekeepers serving in Mali and to the countries contributing these troops.
The UN Chief said he was deeply concerned by series of attacks directed against the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) and MINUSMA contractors.
The attack, Ban said, killed five civilians and injured 13 civilians and 16 United Nations peacekeepers last week.
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He said on April 15, in Ansongo (Gao region), a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated outside the MINUSMA camp killing two civilians and wounding 12 civilians, including four children, as well as nine peacekeepers.
On April 17, he said, about 25 km west of Gao, two unidentified armed assailants attacked a convoy of MINUSMA-contracted trucks and killed two drivers and injured another contractor.
Ban said on April 20, about 30 km west of Gao, unidentified armed men killed the driver of another truck contracted by MINUSMA.
Again, he said, on April 23, in Kidal region, 100 km south-west of Kidal, seven peacekeepers were wounded when a MINUSMA vehicle struck an explosive device.
Attacks against civilians and UN peacekeepers, Ban said, constitute a serious violation of international law.
The secretary-general urged that those responsible for these attacks should be brought to justice.
This series of attacks, he added, highlights the urgency of finding a political settlement and re-establishing security in the north of Mali.
Ban expressed his deepest condolences to the families of the deceased and the Government of Mali.
He wished a speedy recovery to those who had been injured. (NAN)
