Goma, 18 August 2010 - On the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, three Indian Blue Helmets of the IV Battalion were killed in an attack on the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO)'s base at Kirumba, some 150 kilometers north of Goma, perpetrated by a group of armed men. Seven other peacekeepers were wounded during the attack, including three soldiers left in serious condition. The Mission has opened an investigation.

It was nearly 2 o'clock in the morning when a group of five to six persons, apparently peaceful, approached the MONUSCO base at Kirumba. The guard, accompanied by an interpreter and two other soldiers, came out to find out what the group's intentions were. The attack occurred when the soldiers were coming out. Between 50 and 60 other individuals, armed with traditional weapons, then came out of the forest and participated in the attack against the peacekeepers.

The soldiers in the MONUSCO base responded immediately, and a rapid intervention team in an armoured vehicle intervened. The assailants then fled into the forest, preventing the peacekeepers from pursuing them. The skirmishes lasted for five minutes altogether.

Shortly after theses events, another rapid response team from the MONUSCO at Kanyabayonga was sent to reinforce the Kirumba base. At the same time, a medical evacuation team arrived at the scene to take the victims to the Mission's Level I Hospital at Rwindi.

As of this writing, MONUSCO deplores the death of three soldiers from its North Kivu-based Indian contingent (Sergeant Omkar Singh, Corporal Suraj Bhagwan Budania and Sepoy Parvinder Singh) and seven other wounded, including three in critical condition who have been evacuated to MONUSCO Level III hospital in Goma. The victims are all members of the Indian contingent. There were no casualties among civilians. The motive for this attack is unknown, and the assailants unidentified. MONUSCO has opened an investigation.

The United Nations Secretary-General and members of the Security Council have strongly condemned the attack, and called on the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo to open an investigation immediately in order to identify all those responsible and bring them to justice.

The Secretary-General has also sent his sincere condolences to the Indian government and families of the three Indian soldiers who were killed