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2nd LD Writethru: UN Security Council slams deadly terrorist attack in Mali

Xinhua, March 8, 2015 Adjust font size:

The UN Security Council on Saturday condemned "in the strongest terms" a deadly terrorist attack in Mali, and called for a swift investigation in order to bring the perpetrators to justice.

"The members of the Security Council called on the government of Mali to swiftly investigate this attack and bring the perpetrators to justice and stressed that those responsible for the attack shall be held accountable," said the 15-nation UN body said in a statement.

The members of the Security Council expressed their deepest condolences to the families of the victims of this heinous act and to the governments of Mali, Belgium, and France, the statement said. "The members of the Security Council wished a speedy recovery to those injured."

Five people were killed and many others injured in the attack on a bar in Mali's capital of Bamako, reports said. Those killed were civilians including personnel of the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) and the European Union (EU), the statement said.

"The members of the Security Council reaffirmed the need to combat by all means, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts, and that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed," the statement said.

The Security Council reiterated their support for the special representative of the UN secretary-general in Mali, Mongi Hamdi, and MINUSMA to assist the Malian authorities and people in their efforts to bring lasting peace and stability to their country, as mandated by relevant Security Council resolutions, it added.

The dead included a French citizen and a Belgian security officer with the EU delegation in the country, said the reports.

Mali's desert north, where French forces wrested control of territory from separatist rebels and al Qaida-linked fighters, is plagued by frequent political violence. However, this is the first militant attack for years in Bamako, in the south.

The armed Islamist group al-Mourabitoun had claimed responsibility for the deadly attack in Bamako, the reports said. Al-Mourabitoun was formed by veteran jihadist Mokhtar Belmokhtar, who is a target of French forces hunting down al-Qaida-linked militants in the Sahel-Sahara region.

Mali descended into conflict after a coup in 2012, and has faced an insurgency led by Islamist militants. French troops intervened to halt a subsequent advance by Islamist rebels but separatist violence has flared in recent months, despite the deployment of UN forces.

MINUSMA, which was set up in April 2013 by the UN Security Council, has more than 8,000 military personnel and nearly 1,000 police. Endite