Bangladeshi UN peacekeeper shot dead in Mali

A Bangladesh soldier on UN peacekeeping mission in Africa's Mali has been killed and another was injured when militants fired at them.

Armed forces press wing said a vehicle of the Bangladesh transport contingent was attacked at capital Bamako around 7.30pm local time.
 
The dead has been identified as Nilkanta Hajang, a soldier of the Bangladesh Army, the Inter Service Public Relations (ISPR) Directorate said in a statement.
 
Injured soldier Sirajul Islam has been admitted to the Level-2 Hospital at Bamako.
 
Citing a news agency, France24.com reported that armed men—suspected to be militants but yet to be identified—opened fire on a vehicle in which the two Bangladesh soldiers were travelling.
 
Hajang was killed on the spot.
 

Over 7,000 Bangladesh troops are currently serving as UN peacekeepers in different conflict-ravaged countries. A total of 1,755 soldiers and policemen from Bangladesh are posted in Mali alone.

Those deployed in Mali are said to be in the UN mission of highest risk.

Since 2013, when the UN Peacekeeping Mission in Mali got off the ground, over 40 peacekeepers have been killed.

Incidents of peacekeepers being attacked by militants have been reported often in the country’s Northern region.

On Wednesday, a member of a security force was killed in an attack at a residential area in Bamako.