Cambodian UN peacekeeper killed in Africa

Three Cambodians are missing after attackers in Central African Republic ambushed a convoy of UN peacekeepers, killing one Cambodian soldier.

Attackers in Central African Republic have ambushed a convoy of UN peacekeepers, killing one Cambodian soldier and wounding another.

Three Cambodian peacekeepers were also missing after Monday's attack in the volatile African country and may have been kidnapped, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said in video remarks published on his official Facebook page.

It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the assault.

Central African Republic has been embroiled in chaos since 2013, when Muslim rebels overthrew the nation's Christian president.

The United Nations launched a peacekeeping mission in the country in 2014 and now has more than 12,000 troops deployed to protect civilians from unprecedented deadly violence between Christian and Muslim factions.

Hun Sen announced the news during a speech at the inauguration of a new building in Cambodia's eastern Tboung Khmom province.

He said the Cambodian troops were part of an engineering unit that was helping build roads, bridges and other infrastructure.

The ambush took place Monday morning as the Cambodians were on the way back to their base, Hun Sen said, adding that the troops were being escorted by Moroccan peacekeepers at the time.

Central African Republic has faced sporadic violence and instability after years of sectarian fighting, with some 890,000 people displaced inside the country and into neighboring Cameroon, according to the UN.

Over the weekend, the UN said four international aid groups would temporarily withdraw their workers from parts of northern Central African Republic because of increasing attacks targeting them.


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Source: AAP


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Cambodian UN peacekeeper killed in Africa | SBS News