UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- An improvised explosive device (IED) detonated on the road to Timbuktu, Mali, on Monday morning injured three UN peacekeepers, a UN spokesman said.
"The UN condemns the attack and wish the peacekeepers a speedy recovery," said Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The peacekeepers assigned to the UN mission in Mali, known as MINUSMA, were in a convoy close to Douentza town in the Mopti region.
The mission, suffering a high rate of casualties, is also beset by mainly Western countries withdrawing their forces from MINUSMA.
The spokesman said UN headquarters is aware of withdrawals and some speculation about them in recent days.
"For some of the countries, this is something that has been discussed for a while, and the date of deployments was already planned," he said. "For others, it's clear, of course, that Mali has very particular security challenges. We appreciate the sacrifices people have made because so many peacekeepers have lost their lives."
"So, we're sympathetic to their concerns," Haq said, adding that MINUSMA "is assessing the impact of withdrawals and planned withdrawals on our operations, and we're already in discussion with a number of countries in order to fill in any gaps." ■
