The EU “firmly” condemns the death of three MONUSCO members in an assault on a base in the DRC

The attack on the base in Butembo took place during a protest against the presence of “blue helmets” in the country

July 28 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The European Union (EU) has condemned “firmly” this Thursday the attack perpetrated on Tuesday against a base of the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in the province of North Kivu (east), an event that resulted in the death of a ‘blue helmet’ and two police officers from the mission and more than a dozen protesters.

“The EU strongly condemns this deadly attack against ‘blue helmets’, as well as all the violence in North Kivu province since July 25, which has caused the death and injury of numerous civilians,” he said in a statement. the spokeswoman for the European External Action Service.

“The EU conveys its most sincere condolences to the families of all the victims and to MONUSCO, as well as to the governments of the countries involved”, he stated, while reaffirming his support for MONUSCO and the Government of the DRC “in their actions to investigate these incidents and prosecute those responsible”.

The deputy spokesman for the Secretary General of the United Nations, Farhan Haq, stressed on Tuesday that the attack, perpetrated in the framework of protests in recent days against peacekeeping troops in the African country, could amount to a war crime.

Thus, he argued that “any attack directed against ‘blue helmets’ could be a war crime,” for which he asked the Congolese authorities to “investigate these incidents and quickly bring those responsible to justice.” The attack in Butembo resulted in the death of an Egyptian ‘blue helmet’ and two Indian policemen.

MONUSCO has been deployed in the northeast of the African country for more than 20 years, in an attempt to shore up peace in the country despite the presence of some 130 armed groups that are vying for control of the vast natural resources of the DRC, including copper, cobalt, gold and diamonds.