Under the title "UN Condemns Attack on Egyptian Soldiers... This is a War Crime," Sky News reported that the United Nations strongly condemned on Thursday the "unacceptable" attack launched on Monday by the presidential guard of President Faustin Archange Touadéra against Egyptian peacekeeping soldiers in the Central African Republic, calling for an investigation into these incidents. UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated in a statement issued by his spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, that "attacks on UN peacekeeping forces could constitute a war crime," urging a swift investigation into this unacceptable attack to hold the perpetrators accountable for their actions.
On Monday, 10 unarmed Egyptian peacekeepers from the UN mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) were injured, including two seriously, when the presidential guard opened fire on their bus in the capital, Bangui. The office of President Touadéra justified the gunfire by accusing the Egyptian soldiers of taking photos of the president's residence, which is prohibited, and for refusing to stop their vehicle.
The UN mission stated in a statement on Tuesday that the peacekeepers "came under heavy gunfire from the presidential guard without any warning or prior response, despite the fact that they were unarmed."
Dujarric mentioned that Guterres expressed his "sincere condolences" to the family of a Central African civilian who was killed in the incident. Both the Presidency of the Central African Republic and the UN mission reported the death of a woman from a bullet fired from a peacekeeping forces bus as it was leaving the area after the shooting.
According to UN classifications, the Central African Republic is the second least developed country in the world. It plunged into civil war following a military coup in 2013. Although the conflict continues, it has significantly decreased over the past three years, even as entire regions in the country remain outside of state authority.
The UN mission was deployed in 2014 and its mandate ends on November 15, comprising about 12,000 soldiers and representing one of the UN's most costly peacekeeping operations, with an annual budget exceeding one billion dollars.
