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2nd LD Writethru: UN chief slams deadly attack on UN camp in Mali

Xinhua, March 9, 2015 Adjust font size:

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday strongly condemned a deadly terrorist attack on a UN peacekeeping camp in Mali.

"The secretary-general condemns in the strongest terms today's attack in Mali that killed two Malian children and a Chadian UN peacekeeper and injured 11 peacekeepers and three civilians," said a statement issued by Ban's spokesman.

"The killing of UN peacekeepers and civilian Malians is intolerable and a breach of international humanitarian law," the statement said.

"The secretary-general encourages all Malians to reject such violence and intimidation and to continue efforts to arrive at a peaceful resolution of the conflict."

Ban extended his sympathies to the families of the peacekeeper and the children who lost their lives in this attack, and his sincere wishes for the full and speedy recovery of those injured, the statement said.

In the deadly mortar and rocket fire on a UN camp in Kidal, a desert town in northern Mali, at least four shells landed inside the camp and on a civilian dwelling outside the camp.

The attack came just a day after an attack on a restaurant in Bamako, the capital of Mali, that killed five people, including a French citizen and a Belgian security officer with the European Union delegation in Mali.

Earlier Sunday, the UN Security Council strongly condemned the attack on the UN camp and called on the Malian government to swiftly investigate this attack and bring the perpetrators to justice, said a press statement issued by the 15-nation council.

"The members of the Security Council underlined that attacks targeting peacekeepers may constitute war crimes under international law," the council statement said.

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.

The UN mission in Mali has more than 8,000 military personnel and nearly 1,000 police. It was set up in April 2013 by the Security Council. Endi