Bamako – Three children were killed on Tuesday when their go-cart hit a roadside bomb in central Mali, medical sources said.
Dozens of people have been killed in similar incidents in the conflict-wracked country so far this year – some 20 people this week alone.
The health centre in the town of Bandiagara in the central Mopti region confirmed to AFP local media reports of the children’s deaths.
No details were immediately available as to the exact circumstances of the tragedy.
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A police official confirmed the attack, adding that the army were sending reinforcements.
The blast which killed the children was the third of its kind this month. First, 11 civilians were killed and dozens of others injured when a bus hit an explosive device in the same region.
Then on Monday, a UN vehicle hit a device during a demining operation in the north of the country, leaving four UN soldiers dead and two hurt.
Mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) are among the jihadists’ weapons of choice. They can explode on impact or be detonated remotely.
A recent report by MINUSMA, the UN mission in Mali, found mines and IEDs had already caused 72 deaths between January and the end of August.
Most of the victims were soldiers – but more than a quarter were civilians, it said.
Last year, 103 people were killed and 297 injured by IEDs and mines.
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Also Tuesday, seven members of an armed pro-government group were killed near Gao in the north when armed men attacked their positions, a group member told an AFP correspondent.
The head of the UN mission in Mali earlier on Tuesday urged the Security Council to ramp up its support to help quell a “volatile” security situation in the country.
French ambassador to the UN Nicolas de Riviere for his part warned the UN mission “is in danger.”
The Security Council in June extended the mandate of the mission until June 2023. But the 13,289 blue helmeted peacekeepers and 1,920 police under the mission now operate without air support from France, which withdrew from the country completely in August.
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Source: AFP
Picture: Getty Images
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