The Bamako court notably recognized the accused guilty of acts of terrorism. The attack had occurred southwest of the capital against Guinean soldiers working for the UN mission in Mali.
MO12345lemonde with AFP
A Malian court condemned to death a man, whom he did not appoint, for the murder in 2019 of three Guinean peacekeepers in the south of the country, the UN mission announced on Wednesday 25 January Mali.
The Bamako court recognized the accused guilty of acts of terrorism, association of criminals, murder, qualified theft and illegal possession of firearms, the mission said in a statement.
The attack, on February 22, 2019, of five peacekeepers on the road to Siby (44 kilometers southwest of Bamako) had left three dead.
At the time, an elected official of Siby had informed the agency France-Presse (AFP), under the cover of anonymity, that it was not a terrorist attack but “a robbery went wrong “. “These are permissible -UN -UN CHECQUES who went to Guinea. They were sprayed by thugs who obviously panicked and fired,” said this elected official.
The death penalty has not been applied in Mali since a moratorium on executions was instituted in 1980.
increased pressure on minusma
The UN mission, known under its acronym Minusma, has been the subject of increased pressure since France, present militarily in Mali for nine years, withdrew its last troops from the country in August. Paris had been pushed towards the exit by the Malian authorities from the double coup d’etat of 2020 and 2021, who preferred to turn to the Russian Mercenaries of Wagner to help them in their fight against jihadism.
It was created by the United Nations in 2013 to help the stabilization of a state threatened with collapse under the assault of the jihadists, but since the security situation has only deteriorated.
In a report published this month, UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres, estimated that the mission of his peacekeepers was “not viable” without more staff.
“This trial is part of Minusma’s efforts to improve the judicial response to attacks against peacekeepers,” said the mission in its press release.
In mid-December, the mission had 12,388 soldiers and 1,598 international police officers. She recorded 165 deaths since 2013.