2 German Soldiers Wounded in Attack on UN Base in Mali

World

June 26th, 6:58am

Asharq Al-Awsat

The first Canadian troops load into United Nations troop carriers as they arrive at a United Nations base in Gao, Mali. AP file photo

The United Nations said 12 German troops and a Belgian soldier serving in the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali were wounded Friday in an attack in the country's restive north. The UN mission in the country, MINUSMA, had earlier said that 15 peacekeepers were wounded when a temporary operational base in the Gao region was targeted with a vehicle bomb. Later, it corrected the numbers. German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said three of the soldiers were seriously wounded. She told reporters in Bonn, Germany that two soldiers were in a stable condition while the third was still undergoing surgery. All of the wounded soldiers were flown by helicopter to Gao, where they were being treated at German, French and Chinese medical facilities, the minister said. “The military operations on site aren’t completed yet,” The Associated Press quoted her as saying. A German medevac plane will fly to Gao overnight to bring the wounded soldiers back to Germany on Saturday, said Kramp-Karrenbauer. Germany has hundreds of troops taking part in UN stabilization and European Union training missions in the West African nation. Mali has been trying to contain an extremist insurgency since 2012.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3048046/2-german-soldiers-wounded-attack-un-base-mali