A statement issued by  Ban’s spokesperson in New York said the Secretary-General is deeply saddened by the death of the four Chadian peacekeepers following an attack by an explosive device on a vehicle of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA).

The incident, which took place on a road north of Kidal in northern Mali earlier on Tuesday, also wounded 15 peacekeepers, including six seriously.

“The Secretary-General condemns this incident which is the latest in a series of attacks against UN personnel and contractors in the Kidal region in the past week,” said the statement, noting also repeated mortar fire against the MINUSMA camp and another improvised explosive device (IED) attack against a UN vehicle that wounded nine Chadian peacekeepers on 29 August.

Such attacks, the statement continued, will not alter the determination of the UN to support the Malian people in their search for peace.

“The Secretary-General expresses his deepest condolences to the families of the peacekeepers who were killed and also to the Government of Chad, and he wishes a full and speedy recovery to those injured,” it concluded.

UN peacekeepers on patrol in Kidal, Mali. Photo: MINUSMA/Blagoje Grujic