Militias kill peacekeeper, 21 civilians in CAR
News & Trends •
nothing can justify such acts that can be considered war crimes1 militias have stormed a un base in southern central africa republic car killing one peacekeeper and 21 civilians1 abbording to a statement from the un at around 5 a.m. 0400 gmt armed anti-balaka militants attacked the base in tagbara about 300 km 190 miles northeast of the capital bangui1 the un said ensuing gunfight lasted hours and 22 anti-balaka were also killed1 it added that peacekeepers discovered 21 dead civilians including four children near a church in tagbara1 it was not immediately clear who was responsible for those deaths1 the un confirmed on wednesday that the attack happened on monday1 an investigation will be conducted and will leave no room for impunity the un said1 car was torn apart after mainly muslim seleka rebels ousted president francois bozize in 2013 provoking retaliation killings by the anti-balaka1 a 12000-strong un peacekeeping mission has struggled to restore order to the countryside where attacks on civilians are frequent1 the un security council approved an extra 900 peacekeepers in november to help to protect civilians1 the mission has become a deadly one more than a dozen un peacekeepers were killed there in 2017. reutersnan1