Militants kill Bangladeshi UN peacekeeper in Mali's capital

Militants opened fire on two Bangladeshi peacekeepers in Mali's Bamako on May 25, killing one, the second attack within days in the capital of what is considered the most dangerous UN mission in the world.

One of the peacekeepers, both ranked as privates, died on the scene and the other was rushed immediately to hospital with bullet wounds after the ambush on their SUV, Bangladesh army spokesman Nur Islam said May 26.
 
"Armed men that we have not yet identified shot at two peacekeepers who were on board a UN vehicle on Monday night. One of them was killed and the other seriously wounded," a Malian security source told AFP.
 
"We are seeking clarification and details. This has to be viewed as a terrorist act. The perpetrators are the enemies of peace," the source added.
 
With more than 40 peacekeepers killed since its inception in 2013, the 11,000-strong MINUSMA peacekeeping force in the country is considered the most dangerous UN mission in the world.
 
It is regularly targeted by militants in the north and while attacks in the capital are rare, May 25 ambush came just five days after a militant opened fire on a UN residence in the city's Faso Kanu neighbourhood.
 
A source from MINUSMA told AFP that the peacekeepers had been travelling from Bamako airport towards the south of the city when they were shot at by assailants from a car.
 
The unidentified gunman shot and wounded a civilian guard and hurled two grenades which failed to explode in the early hours of Wednesday last week, but no troops were hurt.
 
The country's northern desert has been plagued by violence by jihadist groups that seized control of the region from Tuareg rebels before being routed by a French-led international...