Sidebar

Exclusive Reports

28
Thu, Mar

Africa News
Typography
  • Smaller Small Medium Big Bigger
  • Default Helvetica Segoe Georgia Times

Three United Nations soldiers from Bangladesh were killed by an explosive device that detonated as they were escorting a convoy in northern Mali on Sunday, the West African country’s peacekeeping mission and Bangladesh’s military said. Attacks on peacekeepers in Mali, where Islamist groups continue to operate in the vast desert in the north of the country, have made the U.N. mission there, MINUSMA, the organization’s deadliest.

Another five U.N. troops were seriously wounded in Sunday’s explosion, which occurred at around 7 a.m. (0700 GMT) on the main road between the towns of Anefis and Gao, MINUSMA said in a statement.

 

“Our thoughts go firstly to the families and loved ones. We pledge our complete support to them during this painful ordeal,” the head of MINUSMA, Koen Davidse, said. “The mission will use all means to ensure that justice is rendered.”

 

The U.N. did not immediately release the nationalities of the soldiers. But the Bangladesh military’s media department confirmed that three of its soldiers had died by an improvised explosive device during an encounter with militants, adding that four other Bangladeshi peacekeepers were injured in the attack.

 

West Africa’s arid Sahel region has in recent years become a breeding ground for jihadist groups — some linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State — that European countries, particularly France, fear could threaten Europe if left unchecked.

 

Despite a 2013 French-led military operation that drove back militants who had seized control of Mali’s north, the area remains home to groups that have staged assaults on high-profile targets in the capital Bamako, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast.

 

MINUSMA, established in the wake of the French intervention, has struggled to quell the unrest. The U.N. Security Council established a sanctions regime this month that allows the body to blacklist anyone who violates or obstructs a fragile 2015 peace deal signed by Mali’s government and separatist groups.

 

Anyone who attacks peacekeepers, hinders the delivery of aid, commits human rights abuses or recruits child soldiers could also face sanctions, including a global travel ban or asset freeze. Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has condemned the attack against a convoy of the United Nations mission in northern Mali that killed three Bangladeshi peacekeepers.

 

Mr. Guterres reaffirmed the UN's determination to support efforts aimed at restoring lasting peace and security in Mali and urged the Government and the signatory armed groups to expedite the implementation of the peace agreement, according to a statement issued by his spokesperson.

 

Media reports said a convoy of the UN Multidimensional lntegrated Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) hit an explosive device while traveling in the Gao region. At least, three Bangladeshi peacekeepers were killed and five others were seriously injured.

 

“The Secretary-General recalls that Security Council resolution 2374 of 5 September 2017 provides for the imposition of sanctions against entities or individuals obstructing the implementation of the peace agreement and attacking United Nations personnel,” the statement said.

 

The Secretary-General extended his condolences to the Government of Bangladesh and to the bereaved families, and wished swift recovery to the injured. Research centre develops technology to trace stolen crude.

 

Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonaya Onu, says the Bio-resources Development Centre at Odi in Bayelsa has developed indigenous technology for chemical “fingerprinting of crude oil.” The minister said at the inauguration of the Advanced Bio-resources Laboratory and Livestock Feed Mill that the technology would assist in tracing stolen crude.

 

According to him, the laboratory will also conduct genetic profile of indigenous plants and animal resources with a view to preserving the nation’s rich bio-diversity resources. He charged researchers in the country to focus more on market driven research and development to further close the gap between research institutes and the society.

 

“The Federal Government has seen the disconnect between researchers and the society and indeed industry and we have resolved to change the narratives and the results are already with us. We signed a Memorandum of Understanding with three companies to commercialise indigenous research findings. And I have directed the research fellows here to focus on research themes relevant to the society. We have for so long been dependent on foreign concerns for technology and it has not been to our economic advantage,’’ the minister said.

 

Onuh stressed that researchers should begin to look inwards and develop local solutions to the country’s peculiar challenges, adding that the ministry was deploying technology as a tool for economic development and job creation.

 

Earlier, Mr Josiah Habu, Director of the bio-resources centre, noted that the laboratory would boost research efforts in the country and assist the centre in meeting its mandate.

 

“The inauguration of this facility is a plus for researchers and it will go a long way in enhancing our effectiveness in research, field trials and promotion of biotechnology processes,’’ Habu said.

 

The director explained that the bio-resources centre was established in 2003 to extend research into untapped bio-resources in rural areas.

 

 

BLOG COMMENTS POWERED BY DISQUS