The UN mission in DRC confirms the death of a person after an “attack” against a convoy in Beni

Sep. 7 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) has confirmed the death of one person as a result of an “attack” carried out on Tuesday against one of its convoys in the city of Beni, located in the east of the country, in the framework of the tensions of recent months in the area.

“MONUSCO regrets the attack against its convoy in Beni on Tuesday morning,” it said in a statement published on its website, detailing that the “blue helmets” “returned from a patrol escorted by the Forces Congolese Armed Forces” when “they were attacked by demonstrators who threw stones”.

Thus, he has maintained that the ‘blue helmets’ fired shots into the air to open the way for the convoy and has reported that “unfortunately, one person lost his life.” “A joint investigation with the Congolese authorities will make it possible to determine the circumstances of this unfortunate death,” she added.

“The attacks against the ‘blue helmets’ have a negative impact on the multiform support they give to the Congolese defense and security forces. Weakening MONUSCO means reinforcing the negative forces that it fights together with its Congolese partners,” he argued.

MONUSCO has emphasized that “on a daily basis, the mission is mobilized alongside the civilian population, victims of attacks by armed groups, to support the Congolese state in stabilizing the east of the country” and has reiterated “its determination in carrying out the mandate to support the national defense and security forces to protect civilians in the DRC”.

Beni and other cities in eastern DRC have been the scene of numerous demonstrations over the last two months to demand the departure of the ‘blue helmets’ from the country, protests that have resulted in nearly 40 deaths, including four members of the mission of the ONU.

Faced with this situation, the president of the DRC, Félix Tshisekedi, called on the government in August to “re-evaluate” MONUSCO’s withdrawal plan, after which the Congolese government demanded that the mission’s spokesman leave the country, something that MONUSCO itself MONUSCO lamented “deeply”.