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The members of the United Nations (UN) Security Council have condemned in strongest terms the attack against a convoy of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) on 4 January 2017.
According to MINUSCA, the attack took place about 60 km (37 miles) west of Obo. The convoy was heading to the city with fuel picked up at Zemio when unknown insurgents surprised them, killing two peacekeepers, injuring two others, before escaping into the bush.
In a UN Security Council press statement through the office of the Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, the members of the Security Council condemned the attack against the peacekeepers.
The members of the Security Council underlined that attacks targeting peacekeepers may constitute a war crime and reminded all parties of obligations under international humanitarian law. They called on the Central African Republic (CAR) authorities to swiftly investigate the attack and bring the perpetrators to justice. They stressed that those responsible for the attack shall be held accountable.
The members of the Security Council reiterated their full support for MINUSCA in assisting the CAR authorities, which bear the primary responsibility for protecting the population, and the people of the CAR in their efforts to bring lasting peace and stability to their country, as mandated by the Security Council in resolution 2301 (2016).
The members of the Security Council expressed deepest condolences and sympathy to the families of the peacekeepers killed, to the Government of Morocco, to MINUSCA and to the government of the CAR, and reiterated full support for MINUSCA in assisting the CAR authorities.
In a statement, Mr. Onanga-Anyanga, the head of the UN MINUSCA said that “every effort” will be made to track down those responsible and bring them to justice, adding that an attack on a peacekeeper constitutes a war crime.
MINUSCA’s spokesperson, Vladimir Monteiro, said the two injured peacekeepers are receiving treatment, one of them for severe injuries.