By Fatuma Harber
BAMAKO
A U.N. envoy on Friday decried an attack earlier the same day in Mali that left nine Nigerian U.N. peacekeepers dead in the northern city of Gao, describing it as a "cowardly and heinous act of terror."
"I am horrified by this cowardly and heinous act of terror which causes me to feel anger and outrage. Once again, lives have been lost on behalf of peace in Mali," deputy special representative for the U.N.'s Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) Arnauld Antoine Akodjenou said in a statement.
"These crimes must not go unpunished," he added. "This violence must stop immediately and MINUSMA again urges all those involved in the peace process… to shoulder their responsibility and find a rapid solution to the crisis."
Earlier Friday, a Malian military source told Anadolu Agency that a group of unidentified gunmen on motorcycles had attacked Nigerian troops deployed under MINUSMA in southern Gao, leaving nine of them dead.
Since early September, U.N. peacekeepers deployed in northern Mali have been the target of repeated attacks by militants.
On September 18, five peacekeepers were killed and three others wounded in a bomb attack in the northern city of Kidal. The bombing came days after a similar attack – also near Kidal – left four peacekeepers dead and 15 injured.
Tensions erupted in Mali in 2012 following a failed coup and a Tuareg rebellion that ultimately allowed Al-Qaeda-linked militant groups to take over the northern half of country.
In early 2013, former colonial power France sent troops to Mali and – with the help of Chadian and other African forces – flushed Islamist militants from the country's main northern cities.
englishnews@aa.com.tr
www.aa.com.tr/en
