Current:Home > Invest22 UN peacekeepers injured when convoy leaving rebel area hit improvised explosive devices, UN says -EliteFunds
22 UN peacekeepers injured when convoy leaving rebel area hit improvised explosive devices, UN says
View
Date:2025-04-15 17:44:03
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Twenty-two U.N. peacekeepers in a convoy withdrawing from a rebel stronghold in northern Mali were injured when their vehicles hit improvised explosive devices on two occasions on Saturday, the United Nations said Monday.
There have now been six incidents since the peacekeepers left their base in Kidal on Oct. 31 for the estimated 350 kilometer (220-mile) trip to Gao, injuring a total of at least 39 peacekeepers, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
Eight peacekeepers were injured by improvised explosive devices last Wednesday and seven early Friday, he said, and at least two peacekeepers were injured in two earlier IED attacks.
Dujarric said the 22 peacekeepers injured Saturday had to be evacuated by air to receive treatment in Gao.
In June, Mali’s military junta, which overthrew the democratically elected president in 2021, ordered the nearly 15,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping force known as MINUSMA to leave after a decade of working on stemming a jihadi insurgency.
The U.N. Security Council terminated the mission’s mandate June 30 and the U.N. is in the throes of what Secretary-General António Guterres calls an “unprecedented” six-month exit from Mali by Dec. 31.
MINUSMA was one of the most dangerous U.N. peacekeeping operations in the world, with more than 300 members killed since operations began in 2013.
About 850 U.N. peacekeepers had been based in Kidal along with 150 other mission personnel. An employee with MINUSMA earlier told The Associated Press that the peacekeepers left Kidal in convoys after Mali’s junta refused to authorize flights to repatriate U.N. equipment and civilian personnel.
JNIM, an extremist group with links to al-Qaida, has claimed responsibility for the two earlier attacks. But Dujarric has said the U.N. doesn’t know if the IEDs that hit the convoy had been there for a long time or whether the peacekeepers were deliberately targeted.
veryGood! (5)
Related
- Realtor group picks top 10 housing hot spots for 2025: Did your city make the list?
- Ireland to launch a legal challenge against the UK government over Troubles amnesty bill
- IRS to offer pandemic-related relief on some penalties to nearly 5 million taxpayers
- Neighbors describe frantic effort to enter burning Arizona home where 5 kids died: Screaming at the tops of our lungs
- NHL in ASL returns, delivering American Sign Language analysis for Deaf community at Winter Classic
- Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dubravka confronted by a fan on the field at Chelsea
- Cindy Crawford Reacts to Her Little Cameo on The Crown
- Filmmakers call on Iranian authorities to drop charges against 2 movie directors
- As Trump Enters Office, a Ripe Oil and Gas Target Appears: An Alabama National Forest
- Jeremy Allen White Shares Sizzling Update on The Bear Season 3
Ranking
- Trump wants to turn the clock on daylight saving time
- Travis Kelce Reacts to Amazing Taylor Swift's Appearance at Chiefs vs. Patriots Game
- Ex-New York Giants running back Derrick Ward arrested in Los Angeles on suspicion of robbery
- Save 65% on Peter Thomas Roth Retinol That Reduces Wrinkles and Acne Overnight
- DoorDash steps up driver ID checks after traffic safety complaints
- Federal judge orders texts, emails on Rep. Scott Perry's phone be turned over to prosecutors in 2020 election probe
- Minnesota has a new state flag: See the design crafted by a resident
- Barbie’s Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach Are Married
Recommendation
US appeals court rejects Nasdaq’s diversity rules for company boards
Paige DeSorbo & Hannah Berner New Year Eve's Fashion Guide to Bring That Main Character Energy in 2024
America’s animal shelters are overcrowded with pets from families facing economic and housing woes
Federal judge orders texts, emails on Rep. Scott Perry's phone be turned over to prosecutors in 2020 election probe
South Korean president's party divided over defiant martial law speech
Here's why your North Face and Supreme gifts might not arrive by Christmas Day
A month after House GOP's highly touted announcement of release of Jan. 6 videos, about 0.4% of the videos have been posted online
Kentucky’s Democratic governor refers to Trump’s anti-immigrant language as dangerous, dehumanizing