Beni (DR Congo), Dec 11 (AFP) The UN force in DemocraticRepublic of Congo today paid tribute to troops who were killedlast week, in the peacekeepers' biggest single loss in nearlya quarter of a century.
Tanzanian and Nepalese troops formed a guard for 14coffins, draped with the Tanzanian flag, in a ceremony nearBeni, in North Kivu province.
The UN yesterday revised down the death toll from 15 to14. While the Tanzanian press has said two other soldiers aremissing.
"The death of our Tanzanian friends shall be written inthe history of the Congolese nation, in tribute to theirsacrifice," said Congolese General Leon Mushale. "They willremain in the hearts of the Congolese people."The soldiers were killed on Thursday in the conflict-torneast of the country after clashes with suspected UgandanMuslim rebels, the so-called Allied Democratic Forces.
David Gressly, the UN's deputy special representative forthe DRC, said the peacekeepers would not step back from theirwork.
"The Blue Helmets will continue to protect the people ofBeni," he pledged.
The attack is the bloodiest against MONUSCO, a force thatwas deployed in DRC in 1999, and the worst against a UN forcesince the death of 24 Pakistani peacekeepers in Somalia inJune 1993.
The European Union on Monday said the "unacceptableattack... underscores the fragility of the security situationin eastern DRC, amplified by the current uncertainty over thecountry's political situation."It called on the DRC authorities to carry out an inquiry"so that those responsible can be swiftly brought to justice,"according to an EU statement issued in Kinshasa.
The bodies of the Tanzanian troops are to be repatriatedon Tuesday or Wednesday, the Tanzanian army said on Sunday.
(AFP)UZM.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.