Bangladeshi peacekeeper shot dead in Mali s capital

(MENAFN- Arab News) BAMAKO: A Bangladeshi peacekeeper was shot dead and another wounded the United Nations said Tuesday in the second attack in days in Mali's capital on what is considered the world's most dangerous UN mission.

A statement from MINUSMA the UN's peacekeeping force in Mali said "an incident" involving one of its vehicles took place in the area of Bamako airport.
"One peacekeeper was wounded another succumbed to his injuries" the statement said adding that an investigation would determine the "exact circumstances of the incident".
A Malian security source told AFP overnight on condition of anonymity that the soldiers were killed by "unidentified armed men".
But the source later clarified: "We have launched an investigation to find out what exactly happened since on the face of it there are no bullet holes just traces of blood in the vehicle".
Bangladesh is the largest contributor to the 10000-strong mission with more than 1700 troops and police on the ground.
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 the Bangladesh army said.
With 35 peacekeepers killed in combat since MINUSMA's inception in 2013 the UN has described northern Mali as the deadliest place on Earth for its personnel.
The force is regularly attacked by militants in the north but had not been a direct target in Bamako before an assailant opened fire on a MINUSMA residence in the city's Faso Kanu neighbourhood on Wednesday last week.
The unidentified gunman shot and wounded a civilian guard and hurled two grenades which failed to explode in the early hours of the morning but no troops were hurt.
No group has claimed responsibility for either attack but they come at a time of strained relations between the government and MINUSMA which has complained that its impartiality has been "regularly called into question".
Reacting to criticism of the mission by Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita the force said on May 15 that "neither its contribution nor its sacrifices are accorded their proper value".
Keita's broadside came at the end of a speech by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon read out in Bamako by the UN's chief peacekeeper Herve Ladsous lamenting serious violations of ceasefire agreements "on all sides".
"Have we ever violated the ceasefire? Never. So then Mr Ladsous it would be appropriate that the United Nations act justly and fairly in this regard" Keita said calling for "a little respect for our people".
The country's northern desert has been plagued by violence by militant groups that seized control of the region from Tuareg rebels before being routed by a French-led international intervention in 2013.
Despite peaceful elections after the French operation the country remains deeply divided and the north has seen an upsurge in attacks by pro-government militias and the Tuareg-led rebellion known as the CMA.