UNITED NATIONS, June 9 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday strongly condemned the attack on a patrol of UN mission in Mali that killed one peacekeeper, his spokesman said.
"The secretary-general recalls that attacks targeting United Nations peacekeepers may constitute war crimes under international law," Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman, said in a statement.
He added that Guterres called on the transitional authorities in Mali to spare no effort to identify the perpetrators of the attack so that they can be brought to justice swiftly.
On Friday, a patrol of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali was hit by an improvised explosive device explosion, followed by direct small arms fire, 7 km from the mission's base in Ber, in the Timbuktu region, according to the statement.
"The secretary-general pays tribute to the determination and the courage of peacekeepers, who continue to implement their mandates in extremely challenging circumstances in support of the people of Mali," said the statement. ■
