UNITED NATIONS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th January, 2021) Two UN peacekeepers lost their lives and more were injured on Wednesday as the result of separate attacks that took place in the Central African Republic (CAR) and Mali, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a press briefing.
"The Secretary-General [Antonio-Guterres] strongly condemns today's attacks by unidentified armed combatants on Central African national defense and security forces, and the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) near Bangui. A peacekeeper from Rwanda was killed and another injured," Dujarric said."
Earlier in the day, CAR's Prime Minister Firmin Ngrebada said the government forces have repelled attacks by rebels on the capital of Bangui.
Guterres called on the car authorities to ensure accountability for the attacks and called on all parties to stop violence and engage in dialogue.
In another incident in the city of Timbuktu, one peacekeeper from the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) died and seven others were injured, following an attack against a UN convoy, Dujarric said.
MINUSMA had secured the area and launched an investigation into the incident with further details to follow, the spokesman added.
The CAR held the presidential and legislative elections on December 27. The week before the election was marked by violence between the forces backing incumbent President Faustin Archange Touadera and supporters of former President Francois Bozize. Touadera won a second term, but the outcome of the election still needs to be certified by the republic's Constitutional Court.
