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Suicide bombing in Mali "direct attack against peace process": UN peacekeeping chief

Xinhua, January 19, 2017 Adjust font size:

The UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Herve Ladsous Wednesday condemned the suicide attack targeting a military camp in Mali, saying it was clearly aimed at derailing the peace process.

"This is an ignoble attack, which should be condemned in the strongest possible terms," Ladsous told a UN Security Council meeting, adding that the bombing attack, which killed at least 50 and injured some 60 others in the northern city of Gao, is "a direct attack on the peace process" .

"There was no other objective behind this attack than to derail the peace process by undermining confidence between the parties and the population that aims to undermine the most recent progress in the security arrangements for the peace agreement," he said.

Ladsous said that the peace process is at a critical juncture though little significant progress has been made after over 18 months of interim period following the signature of the Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in Mali.

The peacekeeping chief stressed the urgency to make progress and called on the signatories to fully engage in the implementation of the agreement.

"I really want to share with you a sense of urgency. The peace process in Mali is at a concerning state and yet this remain the only possible way to achieve peace and reconciliation. Therefore it is necessary for everybody to commit wholly to its implementation and we don't have much time to do so," he said.

On May 15, 2015, in absence of the Mali's main rebel coalition Coordination of Azwad Movements (CMA), which include three major rebel groups in northern Mali, Mali's government signed the Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation with pro-government militias as well as some of the country's minor rebel groups.

CMA signed the agreement in the African country's capital Bamako a month later, completing the signing process of the accord that is aimed at ending hostilities and launching development programs in the troubled northern Mali, as well as restoring peace and stability to the nation. Enditem