Tanzania on Thursday called on the United Nations to launch an investigation into the killing of it 14 soldiers serving as peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The peacekeepers were killed on December 7 in the worst attack on UN ‘blue helmets’ in recent history.
“The Tanzanian government is asking the United Nations to conduct a thorough, transparent and genuine investigation,” Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said at a ceremony in Dar es Salaam in honour of the soldiers, whose bodies were repatriated on Monday.
Army Chief General Venance Mabeyo said one soldier was still missing, while 44 others that were wounded are still receiving treatment in hospital.
“We hope that the United Nations will do this quickly,” Majaliwa added, speaking alongside UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix.
The peacekeepers were killed on December 7 in the war-torn eastern DR Congo by gunmen suspected to be from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a Ugandan Muslim rebel force. They have however not claimed responsibility for the attacks.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres and the UN Security Council condemned the deadly attack earlier this week, with the UN chief expressing his “outrage and utter heartbreak.”
“These deliberate attacks against United Nations peacekeepers are unacceptable and constitute a war crime,” he said.
