Four UN Troops Die in Mali Attack

FILE - UN peacekeepers stand guard in the northern town of Kouroume, Mali. Reuters
FILE - UN peacekeepers stand guard in the northern town of Kouroume, Mali. Reuters
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Four UN Troops Die in Mali Attack

FILE - UN peacekeepers stand guard in the northern town of Kouroume, Mali. Reuters
FILE - UN peacekeepers stand guard in the northern town of Kouroume, Mali. Reuters

Four United Nations peacekeepers were killed Friday when suspected militants staged a major attack on their camp in Aguelhok, northern Mali, the UN mission said.

The peacekeepers "bravely pushed back a complex attack carried out by several heavily armed terrorists," MINUSMA said, adding the attackers had suffered heavy losses and had abandoned "several of their dead".

In a statement, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he "condemns in the strongest terms" the assault, commending the bravery of those who repelled the attack.

The incident left 19 wounded, the statement said, in addition to the four troops who were killed.

A source in MINUSMA said the attack occurred around 200 kilometers from the Algerian border, targeting a contingent of peacekeepers from Chad.

A UN source described the dawn raid as of "very large magnitude" by about 100 attackers on motorbikes and in vehicles.

"The fighting lasted three hours... mortar shells, shooting exchanges... attempted suicide car bombing," AFP quoted the source as saying.

He added that about 20 assailants had been killed.

A Chadian military source said "two of our forces' positions were attacked. We lost four people, including our forces' detachment commander, and 16 were injured."

The UN force's statement called the attack another "attempt against the peace process" that will "in no way undermine its determination to continue the execution of its mandate".

It thanked "international forces for their aerial support".

The attack took to 10 the number of MINUSMA troops killed this year.

Also on Friday morning, two Malian soldiers were killed and around 10 wounded in an attack blamed on militants in Diafarabe in the country's center, Mali's army said in a statement.

Local resident Youssouf Aya told AFP that he had seen a line of armed men on motorcycles headed toward a military post, then heard gunfire.

He said the assailants had "briefly occupied" the military post before leaving along the Niger River.



Colombia's Potential Presidential Contender Shot, Suspect Arrested

Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay is transported on an ambulance after being shot and wounded in Bogota on June 7, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay is transported on an ambulance after being shot and wounded in Bogota on June 7, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
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Colombia's Potential Presidential Contender Shot, Suspect Arrested

Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay is transported on an ambulance after being shot and wounded in Bogota on June 7, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay is transported on an ambulance after being shot and wounded in Bogota on June 7, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe, a potential presidential contender, was shot in Bogota on Saturday, according to the government and his party, as his wife said he was fighting for his life in hospital.

The 39-year-old senator, who was shot during a campaign event as part of his run for the presidency in 2026, is a member of the opposition conservative Democratic Center party founded by former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe. The two men are not related.

According to a party statement condemning the attack, the senator was hosting a campaign event in a public park in the Fontibon neighborhood in the capital on Saturday when "armed subjects shot him from behind,” Reuters reported.
The party described the attack as serious, but did not disclose further details on Uribe's condition. Videos on social media showed a man, identified as Uribe, being tended to after the shooting. He appeared to be bleeding from his head.

Uribe's wife Maria Claudia Tarazona wrote on her husband's account on X that he was "fighting for his life."

Colombia's Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez said a suspect had been arrested in the shooting and that authorities were investigating whether others were involved. Sanchez said he had visited the hospital where Uribe was being treated.

The government is offering some $730,000 as a reward for information in the case.

Colombia's presidency issued a statement saying the government "categorically and forcefully" rejected the violent attack, and called for a thorough investigation into the events that took place.

Leftist President Gustavo Petro sympathized with the senator's family in a message on X saying, "I don't know how to ease your pain. It is the pain of a mother lost, and of a homeland."

Petro later said in a speech on Saturday night that the person arrested was a minor and that the investigation would focus on finding who had ordered the attack.

"For now there is nothing more than hypothesis," Petro said, adding that failures in security protocols would also be looked into.