On Tuesday, the United Nations Security Council condemned “in the strongest terms” the attack against the UN peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) on Monday, which resulted in the death of one peacekeeper from Rwanda.
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“The Secretary-General expresses his deepest condolences to the family of the fallen peacekeeper and to the people and government of the Republic of Rwanda,” reads the UN Security Council official statement.
The council member also called on the government of the Central African Republic to swiftly investigate the attack with the support of MINUSCA to “promote accountability for such acts by bringing perpetrators to justice and keep the relevant troop-contributing country informed of the progress, consistent with Security Council resolutions 2518 (2020) and 2589 (2021).”
Moreover, they also underlined that attacks targeting peacekeepers may constitute war crimes under international law.
The council also stressed the importance of MINUSCA having the necessary capacities to fulfil its mandate and promote the safety and security of UN peacekeepers.
On Tuesday, in a separate statement, UN Secretary-General António Guterres strongly condemned the deadly attack, calling on the Central African Republic authorities to spare no effort in identifying the perpetrators and bring them to justice swiftly.
MINUSCA was deployed in 2014 to help end intercommunal violence that erupted a year earlier when mainly Muslim militants ousted the then president, prompting reprisals from mostly Christian militias.