Central African Republic: UN investigating incident leading to death of five blue helmets

The United Nations mission in the Central African Republic (CAR) has launched an investigation into an incident on Saturday in which a Rwandan peacekeeper shot dead four of his colleagues and wounded eight others before he also died.

The tragic incident is the first of its kind since the mission was established in April 2014, the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the CAR (MINUSCA) noted in a news release.

The mission expressed its condolences to the Government of Rwanda and to the bereaved families and wished an early recovery to the injured peacekeepers, who are currently being treated at the MINUSCA hospital in the capital, Bangui.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon echoed those sentiments in a statement issued by his spokesperson, in which he voiced sadness at learning of the death of the Rwandan peacekeepers.

“The Secretary-General offers his deepest condolences to the bereaved families and to the Government and people of Rwanda. He wishes a speedy recovery to the injured.”

In a statement issued to the press, the 15 members of the UN Security Council “expressed their sorrow” at yesterday's tragic incident, and took note of the investigation into its circumstances.

Led by Special Representative Babacar Gaye, MINUSCA is tasked with, among other duties, the protection of civilians, support for the transition process, facilitating humanitarian assistance, and the promotion and protection of human rights. It has an authorized military strength of 10,750 troops, of which about 87 per cent were deployed as of 14 July.