4 UN peacekeepers killed in Central African Republic
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UNITED NATIONS -- A Christian rebel group in the Central African Republic ambushed a U.N. convoy, sparking a firefight and kidnappings that left four peacekeepers dead, eight injured and one missing, the United Nations said Tuesday.
U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said eight fighters from the anti-Balaka rebel group were also killed in the battle Monday night. The U.N. peacekeeping mission said the remaining attackers fled into the bush.
The U.N. mission sent a helicopter and additional troops to secure the site near Bangassou, about 474 kilometers (295 miles) east of the capital, Bangui, and were continuing to search for the missing peacekeeper, Dujarric said.
In the initial ambush and firefight, one Cambodian peacekeeper was killed and seven Moroccans and one Cambodian were injured, he said.
Three Cambodian soldiers and one Moroccan peacekeeper were also reported missing, according to U.N. and Cambodian officials. Dujarric said three of the missing peacekeepers were later found dead. He said he did not know their nationalities.
