The UN peacekeeping chief told the Security Council on Tuesday that ‘blue helmets’, the Malian Defence and Security Forces, continue to suffer repeated attacks and significant losses, while some large towns “live under constant threat from armed groups”.

The attacks underline the deteriorating security situation in the country. Head of UN Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, recalled that on Friday, heavily armed terrorists had attacked a UN Stabilization Mission (MINUSMA) camp in the Kidal region, killing four Chadian peacekeepers and wounding 34 others. 

He said the assault was a tragedy, and an “illustration of the bravery and determination of the peacekeepers to support the people of Mali”, noting that the “determined and heroic defense inflicted a serious setback on the attackers”. 

Adolphus Mawolo reports