UN condemns killing of Nepali peacekeeper in Congo

United Nations, April 6 UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the Security Council have condemned the killing of a Nepali UN peacekeeper in Congo a week after six Pakistani peacekeepers in the UN force died there.

The Nepali's death came during an attack on peacekeepers by a local militia on Tuesday in Congo, which hosts one of the deadliest UN peacekeeping operations.

"The Secretary-General strongly condemns today's attack against peacekeepers serving in the United Nations Organisation Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo," Guterres's Spokesperson Farhan Haq said.

The mission is known by its French acronym MONUSCO has 963 peacekeepers from Nepal.

Just after an acrimonious meeting on Ukraine, the 15 members of the Security Council spoke in one voice issuing a joint statement condemning "in the strongest terms all attacks and provocations against MONUSCO" and "called on the Congolese authorities to swiftly investigate this attack and bring the perpetrators to justice".

The Security Council said it was important to strengthen MONUSCO by giving it "the necessary capacities to fulfil its mandate and promote, including by taking additional measures as appropriate, the safety and security of the United Nations peacekeepers and its operations".

Haq added that the attack was carried out in Bali in the Djugu territory of Ituri province by "suspected members" of the Cooperative pour le developpement du Congo

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