"UN: 9 peacekeepers killed in northern Mali" by Associated Press
BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Men on motorbikes ambushed a convoy of U.N. peacekeepers in northern Mali on Friday, U.N. officials said, killing nine in the deadliest attack yet on the force.
It was the latest in a string of deadly attacks on the peacekeeping force tasked with bringing stability to the West African country following a coup and jihadist offensive, in what has become one of the bloodiest U.N. missions.
The convoy of troops from Niger included a fuel truck and may have been specifically targeted because of that, said U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
**********
The U.N. said in a prepared statement that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was shocked and outraged by the attack.
Air support was immediately deployed to secure the area where the attack took place 9 miles east of Indelimane in the northern Gao region, the peacekeeping force said in a statement.
The attackers were carrying heavy arms, according to Olivier Salgado, a spokesman for the force.
A U.N. peacekeeping official said the ambush raises to 30 the death toll for the peacekeeping operation, which was established by the U.N. Security Council in April 2013.
Northern Mali fell under control of Tuareg separatists and then al-Qaida-linked Islamic extremists following a military coup in 2012. A French-led intervention last year scattered the extremists, but some remain active....
--more--"
