Summary:
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The attack at the Obo airfield, which is close to the borders with South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, happened early on Thursday, according to a statement from the UN integrated stabilization mission in the Central African Republic, or MINUSCA.
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“MINUSCA emphasized that any assault on a “blue helmet” was subject to legal action from both domestic and foreign authorities.
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Late on Friday, the Security Council also released a statement that “strongly condemned” the act and emphasized that anyone discovered to have participated in its planning, direction, or sponsorship could face sanctions.
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Guterres underlined the UN’s solidarity with the people and government of the Central African Republic (CAR), where MINUSCA has been in action since 2014 and whose primary objective is to protect civilians caught up in protracted conflict.
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MINUSCA, whose mandate was recently extended for another year, has continued to play a crucial role in battling the country’s ongoing insecurity, according to mission chief Valentine Rugwabiza, who addressed the Security Council in October.
The attack at the Obo airfield, which is close to the borders with South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, happened early on Thursday, according to a statement from the UN integrated stabilization mission in the Central African Republic, or MINUSCA. The mission said it had “immediately opened an investigation into the exact circumstances” surrounding the incident.
Probable war crime
UN Secretary-General António Guterres offered his sincere sympathies to the family of the deceased peacekeeper and the Kingdom and people of Morocco in a statement released through his New York Spokesperson’s Office.
He cited the possibility of such acts being war crimes following international law. He urged the government of the Central African Republic to “spare no effort in finding the perpetrators of this tragedy so that they might be brought to justice promptly.”
MINUSCA emphasized that any assault on a “blue helmet” was subject to legal action from domestic and foreign authorities.
Late on Friday, the Security Council also released a statement that “strongly condemned” the act and emphasized that anyone discovered to have participated in its planning, direction, or sponsorship could face sanctions.
The mission’s troop and peace-contributing states received the council members’ unqualified support, and they “expressed their sincere appreciation” to them. They also emphasized the significance of the mission’s continuing to have the resources essential to carry out its mandate.
UN backing for CAR
Mr. Guterres underlined the UN’s solidarity with the people and government of the Central African Republic (CAR), where MINUSCA has been in action since 2014 and whose primary objective is to protect civilians caught up in protracted conflict.
After decades of unrest, the mainly Muslim Seleka rebel coalition launched a series of assaults in 2012 that helped them seize the capital and hand over authority to a transitional government. However, the development of the predominantly Christian anti-Balaka movement escalated sectarian warfare.
MINUSCA, whose mandate was recently extended for another year, has continued to play a crucial role in battling the country’s ongoing insecurity, according to mission chief Valentine Rugwabiza, who addressed the Security Council in October.
To ensure the safety of its personnel and the efficiency of the distribution of humanitarian goods, MINUSCA has repeatedly urged the Government to relax the prohibition on UN night flights after three peacekeepers were killed while on patrol close to the Cameroon border early that month.
‘Robust’ reaction
The head of MINUSCA stated that in the face of ongoing threats from armed groups, the mission had adopted a “strong, preventive and proactive posture” in response to security alerts from several civilian populations.
She pledged that the mission would keep placing troops where they were required to support efforts to restore order, progress disarmament and rehabilitation initiatives, and assist in blocking rebel supply lines.
She said the search for long-term political solutions is still going on in the Central African Republic (CAR), and the most recent UN report for the Security Council highlighted the “indispensable contribution” of MINUSCA’s multifaceted mandate.
