Remains of Sri Lankan Peacekeepers killed in Mali to be returned on Saturday

The remains of the two Sri Lankan United Nations (UN) Peacekeepers who were killed in an attack on their convoy in Mali on January 25 will be returned to the country on Saturday, February 2, the Sri Lanka Army says. 

By Sandun Jayawardana

The remains of the two Sri Lankan United Nations (UN) Peacekeepers who were killed in an attack on their convoy in Mali on January 25 will be returned to the country on Saturday, February 2, the Sri Lanka Army says. 

An aircraft carrying the remains of the two peacekeepers will land at the Bandaranaike International Airport on Saturday afternoon.

The remains will be receiving in a militatry parade to be headed by Army Commander Lieutenant Commander Mahesh Senanayake.

The two Peacekeepers who were killed in the attack have been identified as posthumously promoted late Major H.W.D. Jayawickrama and Sergeant S.S. Wijekumara. 

They were killed when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) detonated close to the armored personnel carrier they were traveling in. Six other Sri Lankan Peacekeepers were also injured in the attack. The peacekeepers were part of the 1st Combat Convoy Company assigned to the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). 

Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM), an Al-Qaeda affiliated group in Mali has claimed responsibility for the January 25 attack on the Sri Lankan peacekeepers.