A Rwandan Blue Helmet operating under the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) was killed on Monday July 10, when unidentified gunmen opened fire on the peacekeepers who were on patrol. The attack happened in about three kilometres from Sam-Ouandja, in the prefecture of Haute-Kotto, north-east of the Central African Republic, the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) said in a statement on Monday. Peacekeepers managed to neutralize three of the gunmen and captured one. Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) has yet to make a statement regarding the death of the peacekeeper. In his condolences to Rwanda, the UN Under-Secretary General for Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, said the soldier was killed in a “despicable attack.” “A despicable attack on a MINUSCA patrol aimed at protecting civilians and humanitarians in CAR led to the death of a peacekeeper from Rwanda,” he tweeted. “My thoughts are with the government & people of Rwanda and with the family & colleagues of the fallen peacekeeper. #NotATarget.” The Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations in CAR and Head of MINUSCA, Valentine Rugwabiza, said she strongly condemns this outrageous attack against blue helmets and reaffirms MINUSCA's commitment to maintain its robust posture in the execution of its mandate of protection of civilian populations, in support of the Central African authorities”. Rugwabiza commended “the firm and immediate response of the Rwandan contingent patrol to this attack, which made it possible to repel the armed elements and protect the population of Sam-Ouandja.” MINUSCA said any attack on the life of a blue helmet can be considered a war crime and liable to prosecution by national and international justice. The mission called on the Central African authorities to “spare no effort to identify those responsible for this attack on peacekeepers and bring them to justice.” MINUSCA continues to secure Sam-Ouandja, with the arrival of additional peacekeepers on July 5, and Force and Police patrols conducted in the town and its surroundings, the statement said. “On July 4, the town had been the target of a deadly attack by armed elements, who had been forced to flee following the intervention of the Force deployed in the town.” According to the RDF, currently, Rwanda is the fourth biggest troop contributing country with 4,585 military personnel in support of the UN peacekeeping operations in South Sudan (UNMISS) and MINUSCA.
