A Mali court imposes the death sentence on a man for the death of three ‘blue helmets’ in an attack in 2019

Jan. 26 (EUROPA PRESS) –

A Mali court has imposed the death penalty against a man for the death in 2019 of three Guinean ‘blue helmets’ from the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) in an attack carried out in the south of the country, as confirmed by the mission itself.

MINUSMA has indicated in its statement that the convicted person, who has not been identified, has been found guilty of acts of terrorism, murder, robbery, illegal possession of firearms and belonging to a criminal gang in relation to the attack perpetrated on 22 February 2019 in Siby.

Thus, he pointed out that “the process is part of the efforts of MINUSMA to improve the judicial response to attacks against ‘blue helmets’, in line with resolution 2589 of the United Nations Security Council.” Mali has had a moratorium on the death penalty since 1980.

Mali and the rest of the Sahel countries have experienced an upsurge in violence, both jihadist at the hands of groups linked to Al Qaeda and the Islamic State, and inter-communal in nature, which has led France and the G5 Sahel countries — Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger– to increase their operations.