Goma (December 9, 2017): In the deadliest single attack on a United Nations peacekeeping mission in recent days, rebels in eastern Congo killed at least 14 peacekeepers and wounded 53 others in an assault on their base that was launched at nightfall and went on for hours.
The peacekeepers killed were from Tanzania. At least five Congolese soldiers also were killed in the attack Thursday evening that has been blamed on one of the region’s deadliest rebel groups.
At least two peacekeepers remained missing, the UN said. More than 20 were evacuated for medical treatment in the regional capital, Goma.
It was not clear when military reinforcements arrived after the attack, the UN said. Conditions in the region are “very, very challenging,” said UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix, who said the attack followed a recent increase in activities by various armed groups. He called the assault a response to the UN mission’s own “increasingly robust posture.”
Related News:
