Peacekeeper deaths for 2013 hits 90

(Vatican Radio) Several UN peacekeepers in Mali were killed when a bomb exploded on Saturday. The deaths came one day after the UN issued its 2013 report of peacekeeping deaths. At least two Senegalese peacekeepers and others were wounded when a car packed with explosives detonated in troubled city of Kidal in northern Mali.


The bomb exploded in front of a bank, guarded by the peacekeepers. The explosion was so powerful, the bank crumbled, a school nearby broke into flames and the doors of house in the area were blown off.


The deaths come on the heels of a report issued on Friday by Hervé Ladsous, the head of UN peacekeeping operations, who told reporters that 90 peacekeepers were killed in the line of duty this past year.

“Let me just express our sorrow of course, at the fact that we have had, over the past year 90 of our colleagues who died, 29 of them through deliberate attacks against them,” he said. “This is really a shame and we are terribly sorrow for their loved ones but this is also a reality. So more than ever safety and security of our personnel remain a major concern and something on which we keep working at all times and actively upon."

He said 2013 was a very active year for peacekeepers and the UN is continuing to improve on the quality of peacekeeping operations with training and the introduction of new technologies, such as unmanned aerial vehicles.

Ladsous also said the UN expects to downsize its operations in Haiti, Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia and Darfur.

Listen to the report by Andrew Summerson: