The United Nations Security Council has strongly condemned an attack on UN peacekeepers in Mali, which killed four peacekeepers from Chad and injured three others.

The members of the Security Council expressed their deepest condolences and sympathy to the families of the victims as well as to Chad.

They said this in a statement and wished a speedy and full recovery to those injured.

The council members called on the transitional government of Mali to swiftly investigate Monday’s attack near Tessalit, with support from the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali, known as MINUSMA.

It promoted accountability by bringing the perpetrators to justice, and keeping the relevant troop-contributing country informed of the progress.

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Attacks targeting peacekeepers may constitute war crimes under international law, and terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitute one of the most serious threats to international peace and security, they stressed.

Expressing their concern about the security situation in Mali, the council members reiterated their full support to MINUSMA and the other security presences in the Sahel region.

They stressed that these heinous acts would not undermine their determination to continue to support the peace and reconciliation process in Mali.

A UN peacekeeper yesterday succumbed to injuries sustained in the attack in northern Mali, bringing the death toll to four, the U.N. mission in Mali said yesterday day.

The United Nations had previously said three peacekeepers were killed and three others seriously injured when their vehicle hit an improvised explosive device in the northern region of Kidal.

Islamist militants, some with links to al Qaeda and Islamic State, have been waging an insurgency in northern Mali for the last decade.

The peacekeepers were on a mine search and detection patrol in the northern commune of Tessalit, in Kidal region, when they were hit, spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters.