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Logo of Phnom Penh Post newspaper Phnom Penh Post - Mortars hit Cambodian peacekeeping camp in Mali, no injuries reported

Mortars hit Cambodian peacekeeping camp in Mali, no injuries reported

| Publication date 22 March 2018 | 19:19 ICT

Cambodian peacekeepers stand at attention before being deployed to Mali in 2014.
Cambodian peacekeepers stand at attention before being deployed to Mali in 2014. Vireak Mai

Mortars hit Cambodian peacekeeping camp in Mali, no injuries reported

Three mortars struck a Cambodian camp at the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali on Thursday morning, but no Cambodians were injured in the blasts, according to Defence Ministry spokesman Chhum Socheat.

“After checking from Mali, they have [launched] three mortars into our Cambodian camp and burned two houses,” he said, stressing there were no Cambodian casualties.

The attack occurred about 6:50am in the northern city of Kidal, or 1:50pm local time.

Socheat said mortars had also struck the French camp, but he was unsure if there were any casualties. Early reports indicate a number of explosive munitions were fired at the UN peacekeeping base.

Mali’s Prime Minister, Soumeylou Boubèye Maïga, was due to visit the city on Thursday, the first visit by a senior government official to the unstable region in just under four years.

Last year, four Cambodian peacekeepers were killed in an attack by the Christian terrorist Anti-Balaka group in the Central African Republic.

Following the deaths, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen pledged to send more peacekeepers abroad.

Contact author: Erin Handley

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