A Malian court has imposed capital punishment against a man for the 2019 deaths of three Guinean ‘blue helmets’ of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) in an attack executed in the south of the country, the mission itself has confirmed.
MINUSMA has indicated in its statement that the convicted, who has not been identified, has been found guilty of acts of terrorism, murder, robbery, illegal possession of firearms and membership of a criminal gang in connection with the attack perpetrated on February 22, 2019 in Siby.
Thus, he has noted that «the process is part of MINUSMA’s efforts to improve the judicial response to attacks against ‘blue helmets’, in line with UN Security Council Resolution 2589.» Mali has maintained a moratorium on the death penalty since 1980.
Mali and the rest of the Sahel countries have experienced an upsurge in violence, both jihadist from groups linked to Al Qaeda and the Islamic State, and inter-community violence, which has led France and the G5 Sahel countries – Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger – to step up their operations.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
