DHAKA March 07, 2018 (BSS) – A ceremony was held on Tuesday recalling
the memory of the four Bangladeshi peacekeepers killed on duty in the Mopti
region of Mali on February 28, according to a press release of the United
Nations Information Centre.
“They left their families, loved ones and communities, enthusiastic to
contribute to peace and stability. Like their beloved brothers-in-arms of the
other contingents, they too died because they wore the uniform of the United
Nations. But let there be no mistake; they died as heroes of peace,” said
Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General (SRSG) Mahamat
Saleh Annadif at the memorial ceremony held at the MINUSMA Operational Base
in Bamako.
Warrant Officer Abul Kalam Azad, Corporal Mohammad Akter Hossin, and
soldiers Mohammad Rayhan Ali and Jamal Uddin were killed on February 28 last
when their vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device on the Boni-
Douentza road. During the same attack four other peacekeepers were seriously
injured.
Recalling the unique security context in which MINUSMA is executing its
mandate, Force Commander of the MINUSMA, General Jean-Paul Deconinck urged
his colleagues to continue to remain “stronger than ever, united, committed
to the implementation of our mandate: that of the stabilization and
restoration of peace in Mali. ”
Along the same lines as Annadif, General Deconinck urged peacekeepers,
MINUSMA civilians and partners present, to Mission’s action in Mali: “The
enemy’s objective is to hinder any initiative that helps Mali out of this
crisis.
It is aimed at all friends of peace, not only MINUSMA but also the
Malian Armed Forces, our international partners and the people. And that’s
not acceptable. And that’s the reason we’re here.”
Earlier in the week, the two senior officials visited the Bangladeshi
base in Gao to express in person their condolences to the fallen
peacekeepers’ colleagues and to assure them of their full support.