UN Peacekeeper From Rwanda Killed in Deadly Attack in Central African Republic
Credit: twitterunpeacekeeping / UN Peacekeeping operation in Africa
By Gary Raynaldo DIPLOMATIC TIMES
UNITED NATIONS – NEW YORK – A UN peacekeeper from Rwanda was killed and two others wounded in an attack Monday in the Central African Republic. The attack on Monday, in the Nana-Mambere prefecture, was allegedly carried out by the Return, Reclamation and Rehabilitation (3R) armed group, according to a UN statement. UN Secretary-General António Guterres has strongly condemned the attack and expressed his deepest condolences to the family of the victim, and to the people and Government of Rwanda.
“The Secretary-General recalls that attacks against United Nations peacekeepers may constitute war crimes under international law. He calls on the Central African Republic authorities to spare no effort in identifying the perpetrators of this attack so that they can be brought to justice swiftly.”
-Spokesperson for Secretary General António Guterres
Attacks Targeting United Nations peacekeepers May Constitute War Crimes
Last month two UN peacekeepers in Mali were killed in an attack on their convoy in the north of the West African nation. The two peacekeepers were Egyptian nationals with the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). There have been nearly 200 UN ‘blue helmet’ peacekeepers killed since MINUSMA was established in 2013. Three UN peacekeepers from Chad were killed in northern Mali last month when their convoy hit a roadside bomb near Aguelhok, in the restive Kidal region. On Feb. 20, 2019, three UN peacekeepers from Guinea were killed near west African nation Mali’s capital city Bamako. On Jan. 20, 2019, ten peacekeepers from Chad were killed in a suspected Islamist attack in northern Mali. “The Secretary-General recalls that attacks targeting United Nations peacekeepers may constitute war crimes under international law,” Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for UN Secretary-General said following the Mali attack. He added that “the Secretary-General reaffirms that such cowardly acts will not deter the United Nations from its resolve to continue supporting the people and Government of Mali in their pursuit of peace and stability.”
MINUSCA, the UN peacekeeping operation in the Central African Republic, works to protect civilians and support transition processes.
#RCA🇨🇫: l’ONU🇺🇳 condamne une attaque contre la MINUSCA (@UN_CAR) qui a coûté la vie à un Casque bleu rwandais🇷🇼.@UNPeacekeeping – @Lacroix_UN – @UNRwanda https://t.co/O6YqAaXJf4
— ONU Info (@ONUinfo) July 13, 2020
“This criminal attack constitutes a new violation of the peace agreement by the 3R & its leader Abass Sidiki”, the mission said on Twitter. The 3R armed group was created in 2015 to protect the Fulani community, a minority in the region, against attacks by Anti-Balaka fighters, one of the two main armed groups in CAR.
The head of UN Peacekeeping has also weighed in on the incident. Writing on Twitter, Jean-Pierre Lacroix strongly condemned “this cowardly attack”, adding that “this crime must not go unpunished.”
