4 Cambodians among victims of suicide attack targeting Mali’s UN force

PHNOM PENH: Four Cambodian civilians working for the United Nations ( UN) mineclearing operation were among victims of a suicide attack in the conflict-torn West African nation of Mali, a Defence Ministry spokesman said yesterday.

“One Cambodian was seriously wounded and three others sustained minor injuries,” the ministry’s spokesman, Chhum Socheat, said in a statement.

Xinhua news agency quoted him as saying the seriously injured victim was sent to the Chinese peacekeeping Level 2 Military Hospital in the city of Gao, while those slightly injured were admitted to a nearby hospital.

According to the spokesman, the vicinity of a UN’s residential complex in Gao was attacked Monday night in a car bomb blast, killing the suicide bomber, two Malian citizens and injuring 14 others.

Socheat said the Cambodian military personnel who were on a mission in Gao were not hurt in the terrorist attack.

A group linked to the al- Qaeda claimed responsibility for the attack.

Mali was plunged into turmoil after Islamist extremists linked to al- Qaeda jihadists took control of the north in March 2012, and France launched a military operation in January 2013 to oust them.

Cambodia has sent troops to join a UN peacekeeping force in Mali since 2014. — AFP