Two peacekeepers from the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) were killed in an ambush in the southeast of the country, MINUSCA said.
"Two MINUSCA peacekeepers - a Gabonese and a Moroccan - were killed on Monday, 17 km [10.5 miles] from Bangassou (Mbomou prefecture), in the south of the CAR, following the ambush of their convoy by elements of the coalition armed groups," MINUSCA said in a statement on Twitter.
Earlier this month, two UN peacekeepers were killed in separate targeted attacks in the CAR (Central African Republic).
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stressed last week that attacks against UN peacekeepers "may constitute a war crime."
The situation in CAR, one of the poorest countries in the world, has deteriorated in the run-up to the December 27 election. Back then, incumbent President Faustin Archange Touadera accused his main rival and predecessor, Francois Bozize, of plotting a coup and a militias march on the capital Bangui.
The top CAR court barred Bozize, backed by the Coalition of Patriots for Change, from running on "morality grounds." Touadera won a second term, but the outcome still needs to be certified by the constitutional court. (/Sputnik)
( With inputs from ANI )
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