The death tool has risen a day after a United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) patrol hit an improvised explosive device (IED), killing at least four people and seriously injuring two others.
The number of Chadian peacekeepers killed in a mine explosion on Monday 17 October in Tessalit, 1741 kilometres north-east of Bamako, has risen from two to three, according to the United Nations.
Wassim Nasr, a journalist with France 24 and a specialist in jihadist movements has suggested a fourth fatality.
The Chadian soldiers of MINUSMA were on a search and detection patrol in the north of the Sahelian country, which has been at war with militias affiliated with Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb or the Islamic State for several years.
This new toll brings to 76 the number of peacekeepers killed by IEDs since the installation of the UN Mission in Mali.
On Tuesday 18 October, the UN Security Council condemned the attack on MINUSMA in northern Mali, but also called for an investigation with its support and for the prosecution of the perpetrators.
The UN Security Council also invited Bamako to inform the country of origin of the victims of the progress of the investigation.
The Chadian contingent, one of the largest in MINUSMA, numbered 1,456 as of 30 June and is deployed in the northern sector (Kidal, Tessalit and Aguelhoc).
MINUSMA’s mandate was renewed last June against the backdrop of diplomatic tension between Mali and France.
The new authorities in Bamako, who accuse Paris of abandoning the fight against jihadist groups, have opposed the continuation of Barkhane’s support operations for the UN mission.
AC/lb/as/APA