UN slams killing of Indian peacekeepers in Congo

UN Secretary-general Ban Ki- moon has offered his 'sincere condolences' to the Indian government and families of the three Indian soldiers who were killed Wednesday in an attack on the UN peacekeeping forces in Congo.
Three Indian peacekeepers killed in Congo

'The secretary-general is saddened by the deaths of three Indian peacekeepers serving with the United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO), Ban said in a statement Wednesday.

The UN chief offered his 'sincere condolences' to the government of India and families of the peacekeepers and called on the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo to launch an investigation into the incident and 'ensure that the perpetrators are swiftly identified and brought to justice', Xinhua cited the statement as saying.

At least seven soldiers were also injured, three of them critically, when about 50 rebels attacked the peacekeepers at a camp in Kirumba, 150 km north of Goma, the capital of the North Kivu province.

There are 4,000 Indian soldiers serving in MONUSCO, which has about 20,000 people from different countries.

'Life isn't easy for UN peacekeepers'

The UN mission in the DRC has lost more than 100 peacekeepers since 1990.