Bunia, DR Congo, April 5 (AFP/APP):A UN peacekeeper was killed Tuesday during an operation in the northeastern region of Ituri in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the UN mission in the country said.
The peacekeeper’s nationality was not mentioned. A week earlier, a UN helicopter crashed in the neighbouring North Kivu province, killing eight peacekeepers.
“We confirm the death of a blue helmet this morning in Ituri during an operation,” Ndeye Khady Lo, the deputy spokeswoman for the UN mission, known by its French acronym MONUSCO, told AFP.
He died “in an exchange of gunfire… during an operation against armed groups in Bali village” north east of Bunia, the main city in the province, said Jean-Tobie Okala, the MONUSCO information officer in Ituri.
“The blue helmet and his colleagues were fully engaged in their mission to protect civilians. He died on the battlefield.”
Ituri and North Kivu have been ravaged by attacks from several militias and rebel groups.
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