By Peter Yeo

An al-Qaeda linked militant group killed 77 Malian soldiers and security personnel and injured hundreds with a suicide bombing in the northern Malian city of Gao on January 18 in the latest of a series of deadly terrorist attacks across the region. The slain soldiers and police had been working side by side with United Nations Peacekeepers, who themselves have lost 110 soldiers in Mali since being deployed there nearly four years ago.

As Donald Trump assumes the presidency with a pledge to crack down on terrorism and “decimate al-Qaeda,” and Governor Nikki Haley assumes her role as U.S. Ambassador to the UN, the insurgency in Mali and surrounding countries is an early foreign policy challenge. But it’s also an important reminder to the incoming Administration and to Members of Congress who have proposed cutting all funds to the UN that UN Peacekeepers are an important partner in the global battle against terrorism.

Let’s take a step back to appreciate the significance and barbarity of this recent terrorist attack. Al-Qaeda aligned Islamist militias (AQIM) joined with the Taureg separatist National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad in 2012 to overrun northern Mali, including Timbuktu and Gao, before being repelled by French soldiers. Since being forced from the cities, AQIM and related groups have conducted a series of deadly terrorist attacks against Malian military forces, UN Peacekeepers, and civilians across several countries in the region.