July 11 (UPI) — António Guterres, the secretary-general of the United Nations, warned Tuesday that the death of a peacekeeper in Central African Republic might constitute a war crime as the U.N. Security Council said sanctions might be warranted.
A peacekeeper from Rwanda was killed Monday when his unit came under attack by members of an unidentified armed group while patrolling around the town of Sam-Ouandja. Peacekeepers returned fire and killed three of the attackers.
“The Secretary-General expresses his deepest condolences to the family of the fallen peacekeeper and to the people and Government of the Republic of Rwanda,” a statement from Guterres’ office reads.
“The Secretary-General recalls that attacks targeting United Nations peacekeepers may constitute war crimes under international law. He calls on the Central African Republic authorities to spare no effort in identifying the perpetrators of this attack and bring them to justice swiftly.”
United Nations Peacekeeping is an international agency that deploys about 88,600 personnel across the globe to protect civilian populations and prevent conflict under mandates for impartiality, consent and the lack of force except for self-defense.
The U.N. has 18,486 peacekeepers in the Central African Republic serving as police and troops to protect civilians amid a civil war that has been ongoing since 2012. Rwanda provides the largest number of military and police to the U.N.’s efforts in the Central African Republic.
Britian’s Barbara Woodward, who served as the president of the U.N. Security Council, also released a statement Tuesday warning that planning, directing, sponsoring or conducting attacks against peacekeepers constitutes a basis for sanctions under Security Council resolutions.
“The members of the Security Council expressed their deepest condolences and sympathy to the family of the peacekeeper killed, as well as to Rwanda,” Woodward said in the statement. “They also expressed their condolences to the United Nations. They paid tribute to all peacekeepers who risk their lives.”
Woodward reiterated the necessity of MINUSCA in ensuring “lasting peace and stability” in the Central African Republic.
In a press briefing Monday, Guterres spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said the incident followed the rapid deployment of peacekeepers to the town last week after a previous attack by an armed group, which fled after the intervention of the peacekeepers.
“The peacekeepers will remain in place in Sam-Ouandja,” Dujarric said. “The mission is engaging with national authorities for the deployment of national defense and security forces to consolidate the authority of the State in the area.”
