UN leader Ban Ki-moon and the UN Security Council have strongly condemned a suicide bomb attack in Mali that killed two Senegalese peacekeepers.
Ban said in a statement that on top of the two dead, at least seven UN peacekeepers and four Malian troops were wounded in the attack in Kidal claimed by Islamist militants.
The UN leader "condemns in the strongest terms" the attack, in which an explosive-laden car drove into a bank in the northern town that was being guarded by the UN and Malian troops, said the statement on Saturday.
"All those responsible for this criminal act must be brought to justice," Ban said while adding that Malians had to support the country's peace process "including through their participation in Sunday's second round of legislative elections".
Meanwhile, the Security Council "condemned in the strongest terms the attack by unidentified armed assailants" on the UN MINUSMA force in Kidal, said a statement released by the 15-member body within hours of the attack.
"The members of the Security Council reiterated their full support to MINUSMA and French forces who support it," said the statement.
The Security Council "stressed that those responsible for this attack shall be held accountable and called on the government of Mali to swiftly investigate the attack and bring the perpetrators to justice", it added.
The United Nations moved a major peacekeeping force into Mali this year after French forces intervened in January to halt a move by Islamist rebels on the capital Bamako.
