The UN's spokesman in Mali condemned the killing of eight UN peacekeepers in a "criminal attack" on their base in the northeast early Sunday. "Peacekeepers of the MINUSMA force at Aguelhok fought off a sophisticated attack by assailants who arrived on several armed vehicles," said Mahamat Saleh Annadif, the UN's special representative for Mali. Eight peacekeepers have so far been confirmed dead and several others were wounded, he added in a statement. The "cowardly" attack, he added, "illustrates the determination of the terrorists to sow chaos. It demands a robust, immediate and concerted response from all forces to destroy the peril of terrorism in the Sahel."
