The United Nations has condemned an attack on a U.N. convoy of Pakistani and Bangladeshi peacekeeping forces that killed one Pakistani and injured several other peacekeepers in the Central African Republic this week.
The 15-member Security Council unanimously passed Friday a statement calling the attack an “unacceptable” crime for which it vowed “to bring the perpetrators to justice.”
The deadly attack Thursday in the C.A.R. capital Bangui is part of an upsurge in sectarian fighting that continued Friday for a third straight day.
The U.S. State Department expressed deep concern Friday over “the ongoing violence” in the C.A.R. It said all Central Africans must work to halt “the cycle of violence” that has “created a humanitarian crisis.”
The U.S. also reiterated its “strong support” for the C.A.R. Transitional Government led by Catherine Samba-Panza that has embraced the July 23 Brazzaville agreements that established a peace process, and mandated local and national dialogues.
The Central African Republic descended into chaos last December, when Christian armed groups launched coordinated attacks against the Seleka Muslim group that had toppled the government nine months earlier.
France later invaded its former colony after the U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution giving the African Union and Paris the go-ahead to send troops there.
