Al Qaeda Claims Responsibility for Mali Raid that Killed China Peacemaker

By Reuters 1 Jun, 2016 12:34 EDT

Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claimed responsibility on Wednesday for an attack on two U.N. sites in northern Mali where a peacekeeper from China and three civilians were killed and over a dozen others wounded.

China's Foreign Ministry said four of its peacekeepers were injured and called for an investigation into the attack late on Tuesday on the base in the town of Gao. The country said it has 2,400 peacekeepers stationed in Africa.

Two Malian security guards and an international expert were killed in a later attack carried out with light arms on the U.N. anti-mining operation (UNMAS) in a different neighborhood of Gao, the U.N. peacekeeping mission (MINUSMA) said.

Mali's government and separatists signed a peace accord last year but it has not stopped periodic violence in northern Mali by Islamist militants who have also staged a series of high profile assaults in Burkina Faso, Mali and Ivory Coast.

AQIM said on social media its al-Mourabitoun division fought "crusader occupation forces" in Gao on Wednesday, according to SITE Intelligence Group, a monitoring firm.

MINUSMA confirmed the death toll and said three peacekeepers and 10 civilians had been injured in the rocket or mortar attack. Its head, Mahamat Saleh Annadif, called on the government to ensure those responsible were brought to justice.

The double assault occurred just days after five U.N. peacekeepers were killed and one injured in an ambush on a convoy in central Mali.

In a separate incident on Tuesday, attackers killed three police officers at a station seven kilometers (four miles) from the border of Mali and set the building ablaze, Burkina Faso's Interior Minister Simon Compaore said after a cabinet meeting.

Mali's peacekeeping mission was started in April 2013 after Tuareg separatists and Islamic militants began a rebellion in the desert north.

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Al Qaeda Claims Responsibility for Mali Raid that Killed China Peacemaker

Survey: Hong Kong teens generally identify with traditional Chinese cultural values

Many American churchgoers expect their pastors’ sermons to help them understand and address modern cultural issues American churchgoers are looking for more than biblical explanation from their pastor each week. Many expect the sermons to help them understand and address modern cultural issues.

Survey: Hong Kong teens generally identify with traditional Chinese cultural values

Global Lutherans celebrate Reformation Day, ‘trusting in the power of grace in a merciless time’.

Many American churchgoers expect their pastors’ sermons to help them understand and address modern cultural issues

2.1M Korean Christians estimated at joint worship service to affirm family, oppose gay marriage, pray for nation

Many American churchgoers expect their pastors’ sermons to help them understand and address modern cultural issues
American churchgoers are looking for more than biblical explanation from their pastor each week. Many expect the sermons to help them understand and address modern cultural issues.