A jihadist group affiliated with Al-Qaeda has claimed responsibility for a recent attack on a convoy of the UN mission in Mali, Minusma, in which two peacekeepers were killed near Timbuktu in the north of the country.
The Support Group for Islam and Muslims (GSIM, or JNIM according to the Arabic acronym) ambushed a UN convoy on Friday west of the city of Ber, the platform reported. Al-Zallaqa propaganda campaign according to the website of SITE, an American NGO specializing in monitoring radical groups.
The Minusma, a privileged target of the jihadists
Al-Zallaqa reports reports that the attack left peacekeepers dead and injured, without specifying the number. The convoy first hit a mine before coming under fire, said Minusma. Two Burkinabe blue helmets were killed and seven seriously injured, according to the UN.
Since 2012, Mali has been in the grip of a deep security crisis that started in the north and which has spread to the center of the country and to neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger. It is delivered to the abuses of armed groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State organization, but also to the violence of proclaimed self-defense groups, bandits and even regular forces.
The Minusma, with around 12,000 soldiers deployed, is a prime target for jihadists who target foreign presence and state symbols.