UPDATE - Pakistani UN peacekeeper killed in eastern DRC

UPDATES WITH PAKISTAN FOREIGN OFFICE'S STATEMENT

By Godfrey Olukya

ARU, Democratic Republic of Congo (AA) - A Pakistani UN peacekeeper has been killed and another seriously injured by armed men in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, officials said on Sunday.

Lt. Purutasi Mkosi, a security officer in South Kivu province, told Anadolu Agency that the attack took place on Saturday evening in Lulimba village.

Mkosi said the DRC army has started hunting for the killers and added that the name of the armed group involved in the attack has yet to be ascertained.

In a statement, Pakistan’s Foreign Office also confirmed the killing of the UN peacekeeper.

“Naik Naeem Raza embraced shahdat (martyrdom) while sepoy Bilal got injured. Pakistani peacekeepers effectively responded to fail the armed rebels,” the statement said.

The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the attack on the peacekeepers and the killing of the soldier.

“The Secretary-General extends his heartfelt condolences to the family of the deceased and to the people and government of Pakistan,” the statement issued by the UN said.

Guterres also called on the armed groups in DRC to stop fighting and killing innocent civilians but instead seek peaceful means of solving their grievances.

In the last few weeks, two deadly attacks on UN peacekeepers by armed groups in eastern DRC killed a total of 15 peacekeepers and left dozens of others injured.

* Islamuddin Sajid in Islamabad contributed to this story.