Bangui - United Nations peacekeepers killed four civilians in
western Central African Republic on Friday, the UN and witnesses
said.
The Bangladeshi soldiers of the UN peacekeeping mission in CAR
(MINUSCA) fired into a crowd of residents in the town of Bouar.
The residents were seeking refuge at the MINUSCA base in Bouar
following rumours of an impending attack by an armed group, Benjamin
Kaggama, a lawmaker from Bouar, told dpa.
The UN said it was launching an investigation into the deaths.
"The MINUSCA peacekeepers prevented an incursion by a crowd of
civilians heading towards their base," said spokesman Vladimir
Moteiro.
"Under the impression that this was an incursion, and since the
civilians wanted to get access to the ammunition depot of the base,
those who have the responsibility to protect this depot fired into
the air," said Moteiro.
Peace in the diamond-rich but poverty-stricken nation has been
volatile since inter-religious violence broke out between Muslim and
Christian rebel groups in 2013.
# Notebook
## Locations
- [Capital](Bangui, Central African Republic)
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The following information is not intended for publication
## Editorial contacts
- Reporting by: Eric Ngaba in Bangui and Kristin Palitza in Cape Town
- Editing by: Stephen Lowman, +49 30 285231472,
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