Mali: Blue helmet soldier killed by explosive device

In an attack on the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali, a blue helmet soldier was killed, several others were injured.

The attack occurred shortly before the visit of German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (CDU) in the West African civil war country.

The UN peacekeeping mission Minusma said the peacekeepers on Sunday were on a security patrol near the town of Aguelhok in the northeast of the country, when an explosive device exploded on the side of the road. Also near the city Bandiagara in the center of the country were attacked UN soldiers.

The Sahel state Mali has not come to rest for years. Islamist groups took control of northern Mali in 2012. The former colonial power France intervened militarily in 2013 and pushed back the Islamists.

Since 2013 more than 200 soldiers killed

Despite the presence of thousands of international soldiers, instability continues to prevail in the country. The Bundeswehr is involved in the Minusma and the EU training mission EUTM. Kramp-Karrenbauer arrived in Mali late on Sunday evening to meet the Bundeswehr soldiers.

In Mali, both domestic and foreign soldiers are repeatedly targeted for attacks. Since 2013, more than 200 soldiers of the UN mission have been killed. Only in January did at least ten Blue Helmet soldiers from Chad die in an attack on the UN base in Aguelhok.

At first, no information was given on the nationality of the victims of the attack. Minusma leader Mahamat Saleh Annadif condemned "the recent increase in such attacks, especially in the center of the country".