Deadly attack against peacekeepers in North Kivu

8 Dec 2017

Deadly attack against peacekeepers in North Kivu

It is with profound sadness that  I must announce that our United Nations family has lost  at least 14 colleagues in North Kivu during the attacks which occurred on the evening of 7 December 2017, when suspected ADF elements conducted an attack against a MONUSCO Company Operating Base at Semuliki in Beni territory, North Kivu. This resulted in protracted fighting between suspected ADF elements and MONUSCO and FARDC Forces. Initial reports indicate that fourteen MONUSCO peacekeepers and five FARDC soldiers were killed. An additional 53 MONUSCO peacekeepers were wounded in this incident.

The Mission has released a Press Release a short while ago. I wish again to convey my sincere condolences to the families and loved ones of peacekeepers and FARDC soldiers who lost their lives, or were injured in the service of peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the last hours. I also wish to convey my thoughts and sympathies to all United Nations Staff in the DRC - we are all profoundly shocked and saddened by these tragic events.

This deadly attack is aimed at weakening our resolve to fully and  faithfully implement our mandate to bring peace and stability to the DRC, a cause for which many of our colleagues made the ultimate sacrifice in the last hours. I would like to ask us all to honour their memories, to pay tribute to their sacrifice, and to remain firm in our conviction that these acts will not be tolerated, and that we shall remain firm in our mandate to bring peace, security and stability to the people of the DRC.

Maman S. Sidikou