UN Helicopter Crashes in Mali
A UN helicopter monitoring the violence in Mali has crashed, killing its two German crew members.
According to UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the helicopter was part of a MINUSMA – United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali – peacekeeping mission.
Lacroix said that the helicopter was “was conducting surveillance over Tabankort in the aftermath of violent clashes” when it went down near the city of Gao.
The cause of the crash remains unclear, as the helicopter crew did not issue any distress calls, according to German army Vice Admiral Joachim Georg Ruehle.
The helicopter was monitoring the violence in which “dozens” of pro-government group GATIA were killed by separatists, the Coordination of Movements of Azawad.
Despite both groups signing a 2015 peace deal, the UN says that deadly fighting has increased between them in recent weeks.
According to a foreign security source, several dozen GATIA fighters were killed, dozens more were taken prisoner, and a GATIA base was dismantled.
Northern Mali is often fraught with violence between the two opposing forces, and is a suspected haven for jihadists.
The UN has condemned the renewed fighting, with Said Mahamat Saleh Annadif, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General releasing the following statement: “[If] ceasefire violations persist, they will affect not only the implementation of the Peace Agreement, thus benefiting terrorism, but they will also undermine confidence in the good faith of the signatory movements.”
