The secretary general stressed that attacks targeting UN peacekeepers may constitute war crimes under international law, Guterres' deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said in a statement.
In Monday's attacks on the camps of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (Minusma) in Douenza and Timbuktu in Mali, a UN peacekeeper from Togo, a Malian soldier, a member of the Malian gendarmerie as well as six Malian contractors were killed. A number of others were wounded.
The secretary general extended his condolences to the government of Mali and to the families of the victims.
Guterres commended the efforts that Mali and the other countries of the Group of Five for the Sahel are devoting to combatting terrorism and violent extremism and promoting peace and development in the sub-region.
The five African countries of Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger agreed in February to establish a multinational military force (G5 Sahel Joint Force) to fight Islamist militants in the Sahel region. France agreed to provide substantial aid in early July.
The Sahel region is facing increasing threats of terrorism. A terrorist attack on Sunday night killed 18 people in Ouagadougou, the capital city of Burkina Faso.
XINHUA/MNA
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