UN mission in Mali: Twelve German soldiers injured in attack

Twelve Bundeswehr soldiers were injured in the attack on a UN patrol in Mali – three of them seriously. Defense Minister Kramp-Karrenbauer said that in the evening in Bonn.

Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer confirmed an explosives attack on blue helmet soldiers of the MINUSMA mission in Mali in the early evening. Twelve members of the German armed forces and one other UN soldier were injured. Three of the soldiers were seriously injured. You are currently receiving medical attention. Two of the seriously injured are now in a stable condition, the third will be operated on. “Our special thoughts go to him,” said the Defense Minister in a short press statement at Hardthöhe in Bonn.

According to Kramp-Karrenbauer, the attack occurred early in the morning, 180 kilometers northeast of the city of Gao. All injured soldiers have been evacuated. In the evening, an Air Force ambulance plane should fly to Mali and bring the seriously injured to Germany as soon as possible.

“Today we are with the injured comrades”

Kramp-Karrenbauer emphasized that the military operation on site was not yet completed. The primary goal is now to get all military personnel back to the camp as quickly as possible. “The rescue chain, as we had set it up on site, worked. And all the wounded were evacuated from the area in question with helicopters,” she said. The military mission is not yet over.

All other questions – such as the background to the attack and the possible consequences for the Federal Armed Forces – will be dealt with in the next few days. “But not today. Today is the day when we are mainly with the injured comrades,” said Kramp-Karrenbauer.

The UN mission MINUSMA had confirmed the car bomb attack on a patrol of the UN troops hours earlier and declared that 15 blue helmet soldiers had been injured. However, MINUSMA did not provide any information about nationality.

Very dangerous military operation

The UN mission MINUSMA in Mali has a mandate to stabilize the country in which Islamist terrorist groups are active. The majority of the approximately 900 Bundeswehr soldiers are stationed in Camp Castor north of Gao. The use is considered to be the most dangerous in the world. The current attack is the most serious for the Bundeswehr since the German engagement in Mali began in 2013.