Two UN peacekeepers in Mali become first to die from Covid-19

The soldiers were from Cambodia and El Salvador

Secretary General Antonio Guterres announced the two deaths at a ceremony to honour UN peacekeepers on May 29, 2020. AFP

Two UN peacekeepers in Mali have died from the coronavirus, officials said on Friday.

Out of the some 100,000 UN troops deployed on about 15 different missions around the world, these two are the first whose deaths were directly linked to the pandemic.

"Unfortunately, I also want to say that yesterday and today two of our military colleagues have passed away due to Covid-19," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, during a meeting at the UN headquarters in New York to honour the peacekeepers killed in conflict.

One was from Cambodia and the other from El Salvador, "both members of Minusma", the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali, he said.

Mr Guterres said the coronavirus pandemic had changed almost everything, but not “the service, sacrifice and selflessness” of the more than 95,000 men and women serving in the 13 UN peacekeeping missions around the world.

Including soldiers, police officers, civilians and all affiliated personnel, as of Friday there were a total of 137 cases of the coronavirus throughout the peacekeeping missions, with 53 recovered and the two dead, the UN said.

Minusma is the hardest-hit mission, with 90 cases of infection, 43 recovered and the two deaths.

The next-worst affected missions are in Democratic Republic of Congo, with 21 cases of infection and three recovered, and in Central African Republic, with 17 cases of infection and two recovered.

Other cases have been reported among peacekeepers in South Sudan, Libya, Israel and Darfur, the UN said.

There were three cases each in South Sudan and Cyprus, and one each in Lebanon, the UN-African Union mission in Sudan’s Darfur region, and the United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation in the Middle East.

In 2019, 83 soldiers, police officers and civilians in 39 different countries were killed during peacekeeping missions.

____________

Gallery: Coronavirus around the world