A peacekeeper from Cameroon perished and another five were injured in the Central African Republic when an explosive device detonated on Monday, UN forces reported.
The Cameroonian was serving with the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA). He was killed at 11:30 local time (10:30 GMT) while on patrol 45 kilometres (28 miles) north-west of the town of Paoua in Lim-Pende prefecture.
“The patrol of the Cameroonian contingent was escorting a team from the International Organisation for Migration. Five other peacekeepers were injured, two of them seriously, as a result of the explosion.”
MINUSCA chief Valentine Rugwabiza strongly denounced the use of explosive devices, stating that they “constitutes one of the most lethal threats to the protection of civilians, the delivery of humanitarian assistance, and the activities of populations in the affected areas.”
The UN mission called on the Central African authorities to spare no effort to identify the culprits responsible for the attack and bring them to justice. It noted that any attempt on the life of a peacekeeper could be considered a war crime and punishable both nationally and internationally.
