UN chief Guterres seeks probe into Bangladeshi peacekeepers killing in Central African Republic

Three peacekeepers died and another was left injured in a blast while on patrol in a secluded region

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has called for an investigation into the death of three Bangladeshi peacekeepers serving in the United Nations peacekeeping mission due to a bomb explosion in the Central African Republic.

“Under international law, attacks on UN peacekeepers could be considered war crimes,” Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN, said in a statement on Tuesday quoting Guterres as saying.

The secretary-general said that attacks targeting United Nations peacekeepers may constitute war crimes under international law. He called on the Central African authorities to spare no effort in identifying the perpetrators of this attack, so that they can be brought to justice swiftly, the statement read.

The peacekeeping troopers fell prey to an improvised explosive device while on patrol, Inter Service Public Relations Directorate, or ISPR, said on Tuesday,

The dead were identified as Sainik Jashim Uddin, 31, from Brahmanbaria’s Katinga village, Sainik Jahangir Alam, 26, from Nilphamari’s Dakkhin Titpara village, and Sainik Sharif Hossain, from Sirajganj’s Barak Rua village.

Patrol Commander Major Ashraful Haque was injured in the blast and is receiving treatment.

They were immediately treated with first aid before authorities rescued them from the secluded area, covered with dense forests amid calamitous weather and transferred to a hospital about 144 km away. The doctors there declared the three dead.

The UN secretary-general called upon the Central African authorities to lift the restriction on night flights that negatively impacts the safety and security of peacekeepers who take considerable risks daily to support national authorities, the statement added.

“Guterres was deeply saddened by the death of the Bangladeshi soldiers from a convoy of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic, in Ouham-Pendé prefecture.”

He expressed his deepest condolences to the families of the fallen troopers and to the government and the people of Bangladesh and wished a speedy recovery to the injured.

Meanwhile, the UN office in Dhaka also shared the grief of their deaths.

“United Nations peacekeepers take on considerable risks in the line of duty. Today and every day we stand in solidarity with the women and men who stake their lives and well-being in service of peace, and honour their sacrifice,” it said in a statement on Wednesday.