Al Jazeera
News Central African Republic
Source: AFP news agency
The UN blamed pro-Christian armed groups for the shootings in the southern Central African Republic city of Bangassou.
The UN’s 12,500-strong MINUSCA peacekeeping mission is tasked with protecting civilians from armed groups which continue to flourish [File: Reuters]
An ambush killed a Moroccan peacekeeper and wounded three others on Sunday in the Central African Republic, the United Nations said, blaming pro-Christian armed groups for the violence.
“A MINUSCA (peacekeeping mission) military convoy was targeted by Anti-balaka,” it said of the clash in the southern city of Bangassou.
The country is struggling to emerge from a civil war that erupted in 2013 following the overthrow of former President Francois Bozize, a Christian, by Muslim rebels from the Seleka coalition.
The coup led to the formation of “Anti-balaka” vigilante units, drawn from the Christian majority, which began to target Muslims. Both sides committed widespread atrocities.
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“The attack took place while the Moroccan peacekeepers were escorting water tankers to the river to help resupply the village,” the MINUSCA force said on Sunday, condemning the assault and sending “condolences to the family, the people and the government of Morocco”.
Earlier on Sunday, the UN condemned an “attack by Anti-balaka near a cathedral where a number of displaced people are living”. Two children were seriously wounded, it said.
