Sahel Edition

Sahel: Mali court convicts unnamed person in killing of UN peacekeepers, issues death sentenceF

Posted On 26 January 2023

Number of times this article was read : 605

A Malian court has sentenced a man to death over the 2019 killing of three peacekeepers in the south of the country, the UN mission in Mali said on Wednesday. The Bamako criminal court convicted the accused — who was not named — on Tuesday of acts of terrorism, criminal association, murder, robbery and illegal possession of firearms, the UN mission said in a statement. The case related to the February 22, 2019 attack on five peacekeepers that left three of them dead. It took place on the road to Siby, a village 44 kilometres (27 miles) southwest of the capital Bamako. The death penalty has not been applied in Mali since a moratorium on executions was put in place in 1980.

The UN mission, known by its acronym MINUSMA, has come under increased pressure since France, which had been a major military presence in Mali for nine years, pulled its last troops out of the country in August. It was created in 2013 to help stabilise a state threatened with collapse under a jihadist onslaught — but the security situation in the country has continued to worsen.

In a report published this month, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said the mission is “unsustainable” without more personnel. As of mid-December, the mission had 12,388 military personnel (compared to 13,289 authorised under its UN mandate) and 1,598 police (compared to 1,920 authorised). “This trial is part of MINUSMA’s efforts to improve the judicial response to attacks against peacekeepers,” the mission said in the statement Wednesday. The mission has registered 165 deaths since 2013.

AFP

More on the Sahel

West Africa: Jihadist Attacks Intensify in Northern Benin Amid Cross-Border Insurgency Pressure$

Jihadist attacks in northern Benin have intensified in recent weeks, with militants linked to JNIM claiming a deadly assault on a military position near the Niger border and carrying out additional raids on security posts along the country’s volatile frontiers with Burkina Faso and Nigeria. The violence underscores how northern Benin has become part of a wider cross-border insurgency spilling south from the central Sahel, even as authorities bolster Operation Mirador and try to prevent armed groups from entrenching themselves on Beninese soil.

Desert Locusts Stir Fresh Worries in North-West Africa$

Small desert locust swarms recently detected along the western Sahara corridor have prompted stepped-up monitoring across parts of North and West Africa, where shifting rainfall can quickly turn quiet desert areas into launchpads for wider infestations.

Mali Army, Russian Allies Accused of Executing Civilians Near Mauritania Border$

Seven Malian refugees traveling from Mauritania were allegedly executed by Malian soldiers and Russian Africa Corps personnel near Ahl El Kory, close to the Mauritanian border, after their vehicles were stopped on March 6. Local sources say the unarmed Fulani civilians were shot or had their throats cut, while other passengers were beaten, questioned as suspected jihadists, then released.