Rebels in DR Congo kill UN peacekeeper from Nepal

By Godfrey Olukya

KAMPALA, Uganda (AA) - A United Nations peacekeeper from Nepal was killed Tuesday in an attack by rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

According to the 7sur7 Congo news agency, a statement released by the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in Congo (MONUSCO) attributed the attack to militiamen of the Cooperative for the Development of Congo (CODECO).

A statement attributed to the spokesperson of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said: “The Secretary–General strongly condemns the attack perpetrated today against peacekeepers of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) in Bali, Djugu territory, Ituri province, by suspected members of the Coopérative pour le développement du Congo (CODECO) militia. The attack resulted in the death of a Nepalese peacekeeper.”​​​​​​​

On March 29, eight UN peacekeepers were killed when their helicopter crashed in eastern Congo’s North Kivu province, where the Congolese army was engaged in intense fighting with the M23 rebel group.

The helicopter was shot down, and the army and M23 rebels accuse each other of having committed the act. The United Nations has launched an investigation and hopes it will shed light on the incident.