UN condole the death of Lankan peacekeepers in Mali attack
The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, has strongly condemned the attack which led to the deaths of two peacekeepers from Sri Lanka and injured six others in Mali on Friday. The Secretary-General strongly condemned the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attack against a MINUSMA convoy near Douentza, Mopti region, on Friday morning.
Sri Lanka Army said the attack on the WMZ and the convoy which was returning after a mission killed a Sri Lankan Army Captain and a Corporal and injured three more Sri Lankan soldiers.The Secretary-General expressed “his deep condolences to the Government of Sri Lanka and the families of the victims and wished a speedy recovery to those injured.
The Secretary-General recalled that attacks targeting United Nations peacekeepers may constitute war crimes under international law and called on the Malian authorities to spare no effort in identifying the perpetrators of this attack, so that they can be brought to justice as swiftly as possible.
“These cowardly acts will not deter MINUSMA’s determination to support the people and Government of Mali in their pursuit of peace and stability,” a statement issued by his spokesman Farhan Haq read.A peacekeeper from Burkina Faso was also injured in a separate IED attack against another convoy near the same area, on ThursdayThe UN Security Council also paid tribute to the fallen peacekeepers and called for swift response from Mali.
The members of the Security Council expressed their deepest condolences in a statement released on Friday night, and expressed sympathy to the families of the victims, as well as to Sri Lanka and to MINUSMA.”Council members wished a speedy and full recovery to those injured and paid tribute to the peacekeepers who risk their lives,” a statement said.The 15-member body “called on the Government of Mali to swiftly investigate this attack and bring the perpetrators to justice. They underlined that attacks targeting peacekeepers may constitute war crimes under international law.”The Council stressed “that involvement in planning, directing, sponsoring or conducting attacks against MINUSMA peacekeepers constitutes a basis for sanctions designations pursuant to United Nations Security Council resolutions.”
(Government News Portal)
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Our guys back in Sri Lanka will say useless uneducated soldiers got killed in a foreign country so what? What will our defense Secretary who is ‘speaking through his hat’ says? That said, I am profoundly sadden by the death of these heroes.