(AFP) — BAMAKO, Mali — Jihadist gunmen angered by Chad forging ties with Israel killed 10 Chadian peacekeepers and injured at least 25 others in an attack on a UN camp in northern Mali on Sunday, one of the deadliest strikes against the UN mission in the West African country.

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was “in reaction” to the visit to Chad by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to the Mauritanian Al-Akhbar news agency, which regularly receives statements from this jihadist group.

Netanyahu flew to Chad for a single-day visit Sunday, re-establishing ties with the Muslim-majority country after 47 years. Netanyahu called the move ” a breakthrough into the heart of the Muslim world,” and lauded the fact that there was no opposition.

Israel has in recent years established or upgraded ties with a number of African countries, including with Guinea, which neighbors Mali.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned what he described as a “complex attack” on the peacekeepers camp in Aguelhok, in Kidal region and called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.

“Ten peacekeepers from Chad were killed and at least 25 injured,” said a statement from UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

The gunmen struck early Sunday at the Aguelhok base 200 kilometers (125 miles) north of Kidal and towards the border with Algeria, according to a source close to the MINUSMA mission.

“MINUSMA forces responded robustly and a number of assailants were killed,” Dujarric said, without specifying the toll.

Mahamat Saleh Annadif, the UN envoy for Mali, condemned what he called a “vile and criminal” attack.

“Peacekeepers of the MINUSMA force at Aguelhok fought off a sophisticated attack by assailants who arrived on several armed vehicles,” he said in a statement.

The attack “illustrates the determination of the terrorists to sow chaos.

“It demands a robust, immediate and concerted response from all forces to destroy the peril of terrorism in the Sahel.”

On Sunday, France’s Defense Minister Florence Parly told French radio that the G5 Sahel anti-jihadist force in the region was resuming its operations.

They were suspended after an attack on their headquarters in mid-2018. The G5 force comprises contingents from Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Burkina Faso and Chad.

An attack at the same base last April killed two peacekeepers and left several others wounded.

In October 2014, nine troops of a Nigerian contingent were killed in the northeast.

Some 13,000 peacekeepers are deployed in Mali as part of a UN mission.

It was established after Islamist militias seized the north of the country in 2012. They were pushed back by French troops in 2013.

A peace agreement signed in 2015 by the Bamako government and armed groups was aimed at restoring stability to Mali.

But the accord has failed to stop violence by Islamist militants, who have also staged attacks in neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger.

Earlier this month, both France and the United States criticized the authorities in Mali for their failure to stem the worsening violence.

On January 16, France threatened to push for more targeted sanctions to be imposed on Mali after hearing a UN official report on worsening violence in the West African country.

Washington renewed its warning that it would push for changes to the peacekeeping mission in Mali, possibly a major drawdown, if there was no progress.

In August, a panel of experts said in a report to the UN Security Council that inter-communal conflicts in the region were exacerbating existing tensions from clashes between jihadist groups and international and Malian forces.</s>At least 10 peacekeepers from Chad have been killed and 25 others wounded in an attack on a United Nations camp in northern Mali, according to the world body.

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claimed responsibility for Sunday's attack, saying it was "in reaction" to the visit to Chad by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to the Mauritanian Al-Akhbar news agency, which regularly receives statements from this armed group.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres condemned what he described as a "complex attack" on the UN camp in Aguelhoc, some 200km north of Mali's Kidal region towards the border with Algeria, and called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.

According to residents, the attackers came on motorcycles and cars.

"MINUSMA forces responded robustly and a number of assailants were killed," UN spokesperson Ivan Dujarric said, referring to the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali.

Mahamat Saleh Annadif, the UN envoy for Mali, condemned what he called a "vile and criminal" attack.



"Peacekeepers of the MINUSMA force at Aguelhok fought off a sophisticated attack by assailants who arrived on several armed vehicles," he said in a statement.



The attack "illustrates the determination of the terrorists to sow chaos".

He added the attack demanded "a robust, swift and concerted response".

Worsening violence

Mali is under threat from a number of armed groups affiliated with and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) groups.

The UN has deployed about 12,000 troops and police in its MINUSMA peacekeeping mission in Mali, which ranks as the most dangerous country for the peacekeepers.

Mali, the eighth largest country in Africa and one of the poorest in the world, has been struggling to return to stability after al-Qaeda-linked fighters took control of the northern areas of the country in early 2012, prompting France to intervene militarily.

The fighters were routed in a French-led military operation in 2013, but large stretches of the landlocked Sahel state remain out of government control.

A peace deal between the government and armed groups was signed in 2015, but its implementation has been slow, while attacks continue in central and northern parts of the country.

Earlier this month, both France and the United States criticised the authorities in Mali for their failure to stem the worsening violence.</s>Ten United Nations peacekeepers from Chad were killed in a terrorist attack on their camp in Mali’s Kidal region on Sunday, AP reported. The Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for the attack on the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission that also injured 25 people, according to Al Jazeera.

The extremist group purportedly said the attack was a response to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Chad, Al Jazeera quoted a Mauritanian Al-Akhbar news agency report as saying.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the attack and expressed his condolences with the families of the deceased and the government of Chad. Guterres said the peacekeepers “responded robustly” against the attack and killed several of the assailants.

The Secretary-General called on the Malian authorities and armed groups who are signatories to the peace agreement to crack down on the attackers.</s>Al-Qaida-linked jihadists attacked a United Nations peacekeeping base in Aguelhoc in northern Mali's Kidal region, killing at least eight peacekeepers, the U.N. mission in Mali said Sunday.

 

 "The current toll is 8 blue helmets killed and several injured. The peacekeepers managed to neutralize some attackers and a prosecution was initiated against those who fled," said Myriam Dessables, spokeswoman for U.N mission in Mali.

 

 Many others were injured at the base that houses peacekeepers from Chad.

 

 Residents confirmed the Sunday morning assault saying that attackers came in motorcycles and cars.

 

 The peacekeeping mission in Mali is one of the U.N.'s deadliest.

 Mali is under threat from a number of extremist groups affiliated with al-Qaida and the Islamic State organization, and attacks have moved from the north to Central Mali.</s>BAMAKO: Ten U.N. peacekeepers from Chad were killed and at least 25 were wounded while repelling an attack by armed assailants near a village in northern Mali on Sunday, the West African nation's U.N. mission and the United Nations said.

The identity of the attackers was not immediately clear. U.N. peacekeeping and French forces are stationed in northern Mali to combat well-armed jihadist groups seen as threatening security across Africa's Sahel region.

The clash near Aguelhok occurred early on Sunday following an attack by assailants in many armed vehicles, the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Mali (MINUSMA) said in a statement.

The United Nations said peacekeepers had thwarted the attack, but 10 died and at least 25 were wounded.

"The Secretary-General reaffirms that such acts will not diminish the resolve of the United Nations to continue supporting the people and Government of Mali in their efforts to build peace and stability in the country," it said.

A 2015 peace deal signed by Mali’s government and separatist groups has failed to end the violence. Islamists have also staged assaults on high-profile targets in the capital, Bamako, and in neighbouring Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast.

French forces intervened in Mali in 2013 to drive back fighters who had hijacked a Tuareg uprising a year earlier, and some 4,000 French troops remain there. The U.N. Security Council then deployed peacekeepers, which have been targets of a concerted guerrilla campaign.</s>BAMAKO: Gunmen killed at least eight Chadian UN peacekeepers in an attack Sunday on one of their bases in northern Mali, a source close to the MINUSMA force said.

"According to a new toll, still provisional, at least eight peacekeepers have been killed," the source said. The attack happened early Sunday at the Aguelhok base 200 kilometres north of Kidal and towards the border with Algeria, the source added.

A Malian security source spoke of at least six killed and 19 wounded, while a diplomat in northern Mali told AFP that several of the attackers were also killed. An attack at the same base last April killed two peacekeepers and left several others wounded.

More than 13,000 peacekeepers are deployed in Mali as part of a UN mission that was established after Islamist militias seized northern Mali in 2012. They were pushed backed by French troops in 2013. A peace agreement signed in 2015 by the Bamako government and armed groups was aimed at restoring stability to Mali following a brief Islamist takeover in the north. But the accord has failed to stop violence by Islamist militants, who have also staged attacks in Burkina Faso and Niger.</s>Al-Qaida-linked jihadists attacked a United Nations peacekeeping base in Aguelhoc in northern Mali's Kidal region, killing at least eight peacekeepers, the U.N. mission in Mali said Sunday.

 

 "The current toll is 8 blue helmets killed and several injured. The peacekeepers managed to neutralize some attackers and a prosecution was initiated against those who fled," said Myriam Dessables, spokeswoman for U.N mission in Mali.

 

 Many others were injured at the base that houses peacekeepers from Chad.

 

 Residents confirmed the Sunday morning assault saying that attackers came in motorcycles and cars.

 

 The peacekeeping mission in Mali is one of the U.N.'s deadliest.

 Mali is under threat from a number of extremist groups affiliated with al-Qaida and the Islamic State organization, and attacks have moved from the north to Central Mali..

 

 "The current toll is 8 blue helmets killed and several injured. The peacekeepers managed to neutralize some attackers and a prosecution was initiated against those who fled," said Myriam Dessables, spokeswoman for U.N mission in Mali.

 

 Many others were injured at the base that houses peacekeepers from Chad.

 

 Residents confirmed the Sunday morning assault saying that attackers came in motorcycles and cars.

 

 The peacekeeping mission in Mali is one of the U.N.'s deadliest.

Mali is under threat from a number of extremist groups affiliated with al-Qaida and the Islamic State organization, and attacks have moved from the north to Central Mali.</s>At least eight UN peacekeepers have been killed and many injured in a “major” assault on one of their bases in the northeastern Mali, where various Al-Qaeda and Islamic State-linked groups have been active.

The incident occurred early on Sunday in the northeastern Kidal province near the village of Aguelhok. A group of militants attacked the base using “many armed vehicles,” a statement issued by the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali, MINUSMA, said. The attack was successfully repelled, it added.

At least eight soldiers with the UN mission died in the clashes, the statement said, adding that “several others” were injured without specifying the exact number. A Malian security source told AFP that at least 19 servicemen were injured in the incident.

The identities of the affected soldiers were not officially revealed. However, some local media suggested that all those killed were from Chad. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far but Al Qaeda affiliates declared they made previous attacks. Two peacekeepers were killed in the assault on this base in April 2018.

The UN Secretary General’s Special Representative to Mali, Mahamat Saleh Annadif, condemned the attack and said it “demands a robust, immediate and concerted response from all forces,” adding that MINUSMA “will not let this barbarity go unpunished.”

In recent years, Mali has been hit by conflict with both Islamist rebels and ethnic Tuareg separatists. A peace treaty was signed with the secular Tuareg groups in 2012, who subsequently joined forces with the government to fight Al-Qaeda-linked militants, who had been seizing territory and imposing Sharia law on the towns and villages in the north including the ancient city of Timbuktu.

France sent troops to Mali in 2013 and managed to successfully drive back most of the Islamist factions, but violence still plagues the country’s northern regions. One of the most devastating attacks that took place in 2017 saw 60 people killed and scores injured as five suicide car bombers detonated explosives at a military base in the northern Malian city of Gao.</s>BAMAKO: Gunmen killed at least eight Chadian UN peacekeepers in an attack Sunday on one of their bases in northern Mali, multiple sources reported.

The UN spokesman in Mali condemned what he described as a vile and cowardly attack and called for a “robust” response.“According to a new toll, still provisional, at least eight peacekeepers have been killed,” a source close to the MINUSMA force said. The attack happened early Sunday at the Aguelhok base 200 kilometres (125 miles) north of Kidal and towards the border with Algeria, the source added.

A diplomat in northern Mali told AFP that several of the attackers had also been killed.Mahamat Saleh Annadif, the UN’s special representative for Mali, condemned the attack in a statement. “Peacekeepers of the MINUSMA force at Aguelhok fought off a sophisticated attack by assailants who arrived on several armed vehicles,” he said. The “cowardly” attack, he added, “illustrates the determination of the terrorists to sow chaos.

“It demands a robust, immediate and concerted response from all forces to destroy the peril of terrorism in the Sahel.”An attack at the same base last April killed two peacekeepers and left several others wounded.

More than 13,000 peacekeepers are deployed in Mali as part of a UN mission that was established after Islamist militias seized northern Mali in 2012. They were pushed backed by French troops in 2013. A peace agreement signed in 2015 by the Bamako government and armed groups was aimed at restoring stability to Mali following a brief Islamist takeover in the north. But the accord has failed to stop violence by Islamist militants, who have also staged attacks in neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger.

Earlier this month, both France and the United States criticised the authorities in Mali for their failure to stem the worsening violence.On January 16, France threatened to push for more targeted sanctions to be imposed on Mali after hearing a UN official report on worsening violence in the West African country. And Washington renewed its warning that it would push for changes to the peacekeeping mission in Mali, possibly a major drawdown, if there was no progress.

In August, a panel of experts said in a report to the UN Security Council that inter-communal conflicts in the region were exacerbating existing tensions from clashes between jihadists groups and international and Malian forces.</s>Eight UN peacekeepers were killed in an attack in Mali today.

The attack happened at the Aguelhok base in northern Mali early this morning, according to a source close to the UN force in the country.

It is believed that the peacekeepers were from Chad.

The number of casualties thought to have occurred in the attack is not completely clear.

According to a Malian security source at least six peacekeepers with killed and a further 19 were injured.

A diplomat in northern Mali told AFP that several of the attackers were also killed.

Last April an attack at the same base - which is 125 miles north of Kidal and towards the border with Algeria - killed two peacekeepers and left several others wounded.

In 2015 the government and armed groups signed a peace treaty aimed at restoring stability to Mali following a brief Islamist takeover in the north.

The accord failed to stop violence committed by Islamist militants however, who have also staged attacks in Burkina Faso and Niger.

Earlier this month France and the United States criticised the authorities in Mali for their failure to stop the violent situation getting worse.
At least ten United Nations peacekeepers are killed and several others injured in a Islamist militant attack on their base in Mali's northern Kidal Region.