UN seeks more troops in Mali amid rising attacks

The UN Security Council will be working on recommendations on capacity building for the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali (MINUSMA) as well as increasing its troop levels, said Francois Delattre, president of the Security Council for June.
Delattre, also French Ambassador to the UN, said the recent attacks in Mali have indicated that MINUSMA is working in a particularly difficult context.
The UN proposal follows Tuesday’s attack when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated at a MINUSMA camp. The attack left one Chinese peacekeeper dead and four others injured, while a dozen UN personnel were equally injured.
In a separate incident on the same day, one civilian contractor from France and two security guards from Mali were killed when the camp of a UN contractor, in another area of the city, was attacked by unknown assailants, a UN security source said.
Speaking after Tuesday’s attacks, UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric reiterated that the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon intends to present to the Security Council proposals to strengthen the mission’s posture and capabilities in the coming days.
“He reiterates the long-standing demand to ensure that MINUSMA forces are adequately equipped to operate in a dangerous and unpredictable environment such as Mali,” said Dujarric.
As noted in Ban’s report in March on situation in Mali, MINUSMA force has been faced with persistent operational difficulties, coupled with security challenges posed by drug trafficking and terrorism.
The report said the mission is under-resourced in terms of armoured personnel carriers, and some units have insufficient equipment.