14 UN peacekeepers killed in Congo attack

AT LEAST 14 United Nations peacekeepers were killed and 53 wounded in a rebel attack on a UN base in eastern Congo.

The peacekeepers, mainly Tanzanian, died alongside at least five Congolese soldiers in the attack on Thursday evening that was blamed on the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) group. António Guterres, the UN Secretarygeneral, called the incident “a war crime” and urged Congolese authorities to investigate swiftly. He expressed his “outrage and utter heartbreak” at the deaths.

The base is 27 miles from the town of Beni, which has been repeatedly hit by ADF fighters.

The mission’s rapid intervention force there has a rare mandate to go on the offensive, according to the Un-sup- ported Radio Okapi.

Almost 300 peacekeepers have been killed since the UN mission arrived in Congo in 1999.

The ADF intensified attacks several years ago, and human rights groups say at least 1,000 people have been killed in the last three years. About a dozen rebels involved with the group have been sentenced to death.