BAMAKO, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Three UN peacekeepers were killed in an artisanal mine explosion in central Mali, the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) said Tuesday.
"A convoy of the MINUSMA Force hit an improvised explosive device (artisanal mine) on February 21. According to preliminary reports, 3 peacekeepers have died and 5 others are seriously injured," the UN mission said in a statement, promising to provide further information on the attack.
In January, MINUSMA reported that it had lost four peacekeepers due to 18 attacks since Oct. 3, 2022, in the West African country.
Since 2012, Mali has been engulfed in a deep multi-faceted crisis at the security, political and economic levels. Independence insurgencies, jihadist incursions, and inter-communal violence have left thousands dead and hundreds of thousands more displaced in the country. ■
