A Burkinabe peacekeeper was killed and eight others seriously wounded Friday in an attack near Timbuktu in northern Mali. Mali has been plagued by a deep security crisis in the north that has spread to the centre of the country.
MINUSMA, with about 12,000 troops deployed, is a prime target for jihadists who target the foreign presence and symbols of the state. Since its creation in 2013, 186 of its members have died in hostile acts. It is the UN mission that has suffered the most casualties in the world in recent years.