BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — The U.N. secretary-general says two United Nations peacekeepers have been killed and seven wounded in a suicide attack in Mali.
Ban Ki-moon said he was saddened by the deaths and condemned the attack against U.N. personnel in a statement issued Saturday.
The U.N. mission in Mali had earlier reported one peacekeeper dead and five injured.
The mission said the suicide attack took place in Ber in the region of Timbuktu. It marks the third time this week that U.N. peacekeepers have been targeted in northern Mali.
David Gressly, the U.N. Secretary-General’s deputy special representative in Mali, condemned the attack, saying the violence only reinforces the peacekeeping mission’s determination.
Three other peacekeepers have been wounded over the past week by mine explosions in northern Mali.
France led a campaign to oust al-Qaida militants and other jihadists from power in January 2013, although remnants of the groups continue to sow violence across the north.
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