(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.