A Chinese peacekeeper serving with the UN's Mali mission was killed and four others injured in an attack on UN peacekeepers, China's Embassy in Mali said today.
The Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) said in a statement that the MINUSMA camp in the Water Tower neighborhood of Gao was "the target of an attack by mortars or rockets" at approximately 20:45 p.M. (2045 GMT) on Tuesday.
The MINUSMA said earlier that one blue helmet was killed and three others were seriously wounded, while more than 10 members of MINUSMA, including civilians, were lightly wounded and have received the necessary medical care.
The statement said part of container houses were destroyed during the attack and property damage is under evaluation, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
The MINUSMA has dispatched helicopters to carry out air guarding and a rapid reaction force to patrol the city.
China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs today confirmed that one of the peacekeepers from China was killed and strongly condemned the attack on UN peacekeepers.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said China has urged the Mali government and the United Nations to investigate the attack and bring the perpetrators to justice.
"This is a grave and intolerable crime. China strongly condemns it," she told a daily news briefing, describing the incident as a terrorist attack on the UN peacekeeping mission.
In a latest development, the North African branch of the Al-Qaida claimed responsibility for the latest attacks in northern Mali.
Recent attacks in Mali on UN peacekeepers, including another attack on a UN convoy that killed five peacekeepers on Sunday, have drawn strong condemnations from the international community.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said attacks targeting peacekeepers may constitute war crimes under international law, calling for swift action to bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice.
