Friday, October 3, 2014

Nine U.N. Troops Killed In Northern Mali

UN peacekeepers patrol in the northern town of Kidal, July 17, 2013. Credit: Reuters/Stringer

Nine U.N. Troops Killed In Worst Attack Yet On Mali Force -- Reuters

(Reuters) - Nine United Nations peacekeepers in Mali were killed when heavily armed gunmen on motorbikes ambushed their convoy on Friday, the deadliest attack yet on U.N. troops in the west African nation, the mission said.

The attack on the peacekeepers from Niger took place in the region of Gao and highlighted a sharp increase in strikes on foreign troops based in Mali to prevent the return of al Qaeda-linked Islamists who seized its northern desert region in 2012.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was "shocked and outraged" by the attack and called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

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More News On Nine U.N. Troops Killed In Northern Mali

Nine UN peacekeepers from Niger killed in ambush by rebels in Mali -- The Guardian
U.N. peacekeepers in Mali ambushed; 9 dead -- UPI
Nine peacekeepers killed in worst-ever attack on UN in Mali -- AFP
UN peacekeeping troops suffer heavy casualties in northern Mali -- Deutsche Welle
Nine UN peacekeepers killed in Mali ambush -- Al Jazeera
Ban ‘outraged’ by deadly attack on UN peacekeepers in Mali -- UN News Centre
UN Chief Slams Killing of Peacekeepers in Mali -- VOA
Ban Ki-moon Condemns Killing of 9 UN Peacekeepers in Mali -- RIA Novosti

3 comments:

Unknown said...

The picture of the UN vehicle shows what a joke the whole thing is.

The peace keepers except for the machine gun mounted on the vehicle are not more heavily armed than the insurgents. They might be less so, if the insurgents had RPGs.

Being on motorbikes the insurgents certainly had greater mobility. They also had surprise.

They killed 9 and took no casualties. they will be back for more.

With all the bad news today about Kobane, eboli this and other things I will say that things really went to crap in 2011 when Impotent POTUS ousted Gadaffi.

A person could reasonably make cases that is was when the stock market crashed in 2008 or when POTUS negotiated the SOFA with the Iraqi government in bad faith.

James said...

Aizino, You couldn't order me into that thing, it's a coffin. Look at it closely though that thing is rarely used, very little dirt/mud in the wheel wells. The paint behind the wheels on the fenders is in very good shape, there is no extra gear hung off the sides or tops. And the door is open with no visible foot prints on that side in the dirt (granted it's a little hard to see), these guys are just screwing around. I'll bet that vehicle rarely goes out except when foreign cameras are near by.

Unknown said...

So many UN people are being taken hostage now. They are actually part of terrorist groups profit & loss statement. They are income after they are taken hostage!


You mentioned the pristine paint job and lack of gear. Even gear you never use potentially could save you life if it is hung over the side and absorbs an RPG blast.

A "working" vehicle, one that is actually used often for patrol has a canopy like you saw on American Humvees.

These guys have to put the hurt on the other guys or real soon they will get hit by an attack with IEDs, RPGS, heavy & light machine guns and 1/2 or more of column will get wiped.