Six U.N. peacekeepers were killed in an attack on their convoy in northern Mali.
5 other soldiesrs were seriously wounded.
A spokesperson for the country’s UN peacekeeping mission says they have ordered reinforcements to the scene of the ambush.
UN security officials told the Reuters news agency that the attack occurred close to Goundam, a town in the southwest of the northern city of Timbuktu.
All of the dead and wounded came from MINUSMA’s contingent from Burkina Faso, the United Nations said.
“Those responsible for this ignoble crime must be identified and brought to justice as quickly as possible,” said Mongi Hamdi, MINUSMA head and special representative of the U.N. Secretary General.
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claimed responsibility for the attack on the U.N. convoy.
A French-led military campaign in early 2013 liberated northern Mali from al Qaeda-linked Islamist rebels, who had seized control of the area after a Tuareg uprising led to a military coup that plunged Mali into chaos.
The latest attack took place less than two weeks after the Malian government signed a peace deal with the Tuareg-led northern separatist rebels, in the hope of allowing government forces to concentrate on fighting armed Islamist groups.
Since the beginning of MINUSMA’s mission in April 2013, 42 peacekeepers have been killed by hostile acts – including 10 so far this year – and 166 wounded, the United Nations said.
The U.N. Security Council voted this month to impose sanctions on those responsible for attacks on MINUSMA.
