Three UN peacekeepers dead after explosion in Central African Republic

A roadside bomb killed three United Nations peacekeepers from Bangladesh and injured several others in the Central African Republic (CAR) on Monday, the UN said.

The attack occurred near the village of Kaita, close to the border with Cameroon, in an area rife with militia activity.

“The battalion was carrying out a patrol ... when one of its vehicles hit an explosive device,” the peacekeeping mission MINUSCA said in a tweet late on Tuesday.

3 peacekeepers of the Bangladeshi battalion lost their lives on 03/10 night following the explosion of an IED near KAITA village (NW 🇨🇫).
The battalion was carrying out a patrol, as part of #MINUSCA protection civilians’ mandate, when 1 of its vehicles hit an explosive device. https://t.co/lTDsy3e7bz pic.twitter.com/wYzrGZkrxe

— MINUSCA (@UN_CAR) October 4, 2022

No militia was directly blamed for the attack, still, the head of MINUSCA Valentine Rugwabiza condemned “the use of explosive devices by armed groups.”

MINUSCA said it has launched an investigation into the explosion.

#MINUSCA has launched an investigation to shed light on the facts and circumstances of the deadly explosion that took the lives of the three peacekeepers. https://t.co/Tjc0NhA2TC

— MINUSCA (@UN_CAR) October 4, 2022

The Central African Republic has been engulfed in violence since 2013 when Muslim Seleka rebels ousted then-president François Bozizé, prompting reprisals from mostly other militias.

The conflict has forced more than one million people to leave their homes, according to the UN.

After a peace accord was signed in February 2019 between the government and 14 armed groups violence began to die down, however, the situation remains volatile as swathes of territory are still outside government control.

UN peacekeepers were deployed to CAR in 2014. The mission currently counts just over 14,200 military personnel and has suffered 162 fatalities, the peacekeeping.un.org website states.