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Mali: UN condemns suicide bombing of Gao military camp as 'direct attack' on peace process

18 January 2017 – The United Nations peacekeeping chief strongly condemned the suicide bombing that reportedly killed at least 50 people and wounded dozens of others at a military camp in the northern Mali city of Gao, denouncing the attack as an attempt to derail the peace process and undermine recent progress on security arrangements.

"We condemn with the utmost firmness this cowardly and ignoble attack which constitutes a direct attack on the peace process," Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Hervé Ladsous, told the UN Security Council at the opening of his previously scheduled briefing on the situation in Mali and the work of the UN Mission there known by the French acronym, MINUSMA.

According to the UN Integrated Multi-Dimensional Stabilization Mission, shortly before 9:00 a.m., a sucide vehicle exploded inside the OMC (Operational Coordination Mechanism) camp in Gao. The camp is home to the elements of the Armed Forces of Mali, the Platform and Coordination of Azawad Movements (600 in total) which are tasked with leading the joint patrols envisaged by the 2015 Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in Mali.

The Mission, which also strongly condemned the attack and which, along with Mr. Ladsous, extended condolences to the people and Government of Mali, said that is currently is providing assistance to the wounded and has stepped up its efforts to secure Gao city.

In his remarks to the Security Council, Mr. Ladsous said the attack was clearly aimed at derailing the peace process by undermining trust between the signatory parties and the people, as well as counteracting recent progress in implementing the security arrangements of the peace accord.

Yet he stressed: "This incident underlines once more that accelerating the implementation of the [agreement] remains the only avenue possible for achieving peace and reconciliation in Mali and I once again urge all signatory parties to fully engage in its implementation. We do not have much time left."

Progress in implementation of the Peace Agreement

Continuing his briefing, Mr. Ladsous said that more than 18 months after the signing of the peace accord, "very little significant progress has been made," despite some positive steps.

"The implementation of the interim institutional and security arrangements has stagnated and remains undermined by persistent disagreements and lack of trust between the signatory parties," he added. "Fragmentation of armed groups, especially within the Coordination of Azawad Movements, and the repeated attempts by dissident groups to undermine the peace process, also hampered the implementation."

With only five months remaining until the end of the interim period, he said that the absence of tangible results is of major concern "and leads me to wonder about the real will and commitment of the signatories of the peace process."

As such, it is of paramount importance to restore the confidence of the Malian population in the peace process. He noted that MINUSMA continued to receive reports of serious violations of human rights "committed by armed groups and State actors." Mr. Ladsous also stressed that the implementation of the development strategy for northern Mali, more than a year after the international conference for the economic recovery and development of Mali, had not yet begun.