On Monday 13JUL2020, a MINUSCA convoy travelling through the northwest of RCA, more specifically in Gedze, Nana-Mambéré area, was attacked by insurgents of the 3R armed Group (Return, Reclamation and Rehabilitation).
In that attack, a Rwandese peacekeeper was killed and several other were injured. We would like to express our condolences to the family and friends of the deceased blue helmet, and wish fast recover to the wounded peacekeepers.
There are 14 armed groups fighting in RCA. They all signed together with the RCA central authorities a Political Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in February 2019. The UN was invited to help the country in the protection of civilians and support the transition processes.
The UN Secretary-General – António Guterres – expressed his deepest condolences to the family of the victim, and to the people and Government of Rwanda, condemning the attack and calling on the Central African Republic authorities to spare no effort in identifying the perpetrators so that they can be brought to justice.
But the question is:
WHEN WILL PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THAT KILLING BLUE HELMETS CAN BE CONSIDERED A WAR CRIME?
A peacekeeper is not just another combat casualty, like many other these rebels may be doing daily … it is a war crime … something severely punished in an international court of justice.
But then again, most indicted war criminals, from previous wars, seemed to have taken that status in an easy going way. Maybe they even vaunt about it. Look at the example of General Ratko Mladic in Bosnia. The guy even used to go for skiing, in Sarajevo, under the nose of the International Forces, and no one ever caught him then. He was only presented to court decades later, when he was very sick and needing medical care.
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