FG, UN Secretary General condemn killing of Nigerian peacekeeper in Mali

The Federal Government has condemned violent attacks by unidentified assailants against the United Nation’s Integrated Stabilization Mission for Mali (MINUSMA) that left one Nigerian peacekeeper dead and another inujred on Saturday.

Spokesperson, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Friday Akpan, conveyed FG’s position in a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja.

He said, “As we await further details on the attacks, the Ministry wishes to express its deepest condolences to the families of those who lost their lives and pray that God grant them the fortitude to bear the irreplaceable loss.

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“While wishing the injured quick recovery, the Ministry also wishes to commiserate with the UN Peace Keeping Mission in Mali on the sad incidence,” it stated.

Similarly, UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, had said the attacks, which occurred in separate incidents in Tessalit and Timbuktu, left four other UN peacekeepers including another Nigerian injured.

Guterres spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, noted that the UN chief is “deeply saddened at the death of a Nigerian peacekeeper who succumbed to his wounds following the armed attack by unidentified assailants in Timbuktu.”

He further extended his “heartfelt condolences” to the bereaved family and the Government of Nigeria and “wished a speedy recovery to another Nigerian peacekeeper who was wounded in the same attack”.

The Secretary-General recalled that “attacks targeting United Nations peacekeepers may constitute war crimes under international law” and called on the Malian authorities to “take swift action to identify the perpetrators of these attacks and promptly bring them to justice”.

“The Secretary-General reaffirms the solidarity of United Nations with the people and the Government of Mali and its support to their quest for peace and stability”, Dujarric concluded.

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