New York / TEH: The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, and the UN Security Council condemned the attack, on Tuesday, against the forces of the Stabilization Mission (MONUSCO) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which resulted in the death of a Nepalese peacekeeper .
At a press briefing in New York, Deputy Spokesperson for Secretary-General Farhan Haq said: “The Secretary-General strongly condemns today’s attack on peacekeepers serving in the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) in Ituri Province, the Democratic Republic of the Congo.”
“This attack was carried out by suspected members of the CODECO (Cooperation for the Development of the Congo) militia, which resulted in the death of a Nepalese peacekeeper,” he added .
“The Secretary-General expresses his deepest condolences to the family of the peacekeeper, as well as to the government and people of Nepal and notes that attacks on United Nations peacekeepers may constitute a war crime.”
He added, “The Secretary-General calls on the Congolese authorities to investigate this incident and bring those responsible to justice as a matter of urgency.”
“The Secretary-General also reaffirms that the United Nations, through his Special Representative in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, will continue to support the government and people of the Congo in their efforts to bring peace and stability to the east of the country.”
For its part, the UN Security Council said in a statement that it condemns in the strongest terms the attack on the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) in the Ituri province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The statement added, “The members of the Council also condemn in the strongest terms all attacks and provocations against the mission,” and stresses that deliberate attacks targeting peacekeeping forces “constitute war crimes under international law.”
The members of the Security Council expressed their deepest condolences to the family of the victim and to the Government and people of Nepal.
The members of the Security Council called on the “Congolese authorities to expedite the investigation of this attack, to bring the perpetrators to justice, and to keep the concerned troop-contributing country informed of the progress made.”
The UN presence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo dates back to about two decades, and the UN force in the central African country consists of about 19,000 elements tasked with tracking Congolese armed groups and foreign rebels active in the east of the country in particular.
