Mostly Christian militia fighters on Tuesday attacked a UN peacekeeping base in the Central African Republic with one peacekeeper from Mauritania killed and 11 others injured in a battle that lasted several hours, the UN said.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the attack by the anti-Balaka militias took place at a temporary UN peacekeeping base in Tagbara, about 100km northeast of the central mining town of Bambari.
The peacekeeping mission said more than 22 anti-Balaka fighters died in the clash.
Dujarric said the UN peacekeeping mission sent reinforcements to the base and he strongly condemned the attack.
The UN Security Council condemned the attack “in the strongest terms” and reiterated that attacks against peacekeepers could constitute war crimes.
Its members called on the Central African Republic to swiftly investigate the attack and bring the perpetrators to justice.
Separately, Dujarric said the UN mission reported that later on Tuesday peacekeepers discovered the bodies of 21 civilians, including four women and four children, in Tagbara.
The mission said the bodies were found near a church and the victims had been killed with “traditional weapons.”
The UN Security Council said it supports an investigation by the UN peacekeeping mission to see if the civilian casualties were linked to the attack on the Tagbara base.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the attack on peacekeepers and is “outraged” at the killing of the 21 civilians and injuries to 14 other civilians, Dujarric said.
“The secretary-general calls on the Central African Republic authorities to investigate these attacks and quickly bring those responsible to justice,” he said.
In another incident, Dujarric said UN peacekeepers on Monday were informed that a rebel group known as the UPC had detained 23 people in Tagbara, including 13 women, seven men and three children.
He said they were released peacefully to UN peacekeepers and spent the night at the temporary base to ensure their safety.
The UN mission condemned the attacks on civilians and said that “nothing can justify these acts that can be considered war crimes.”
It said an investigation would be carried out that “leaves no possibility for impunity.”
The Central African Republic has faced deadly fighting since 2013, when predominantly Muslim Seleka rebels seized power in the capital, Bangui.
Mostly Christian anti-Balaka militias fought back, resulting in thousands of people killed and hundreds of thousands displaced.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese