UN says Bangladeshi peacekeeper killed in CAR

A Bangladeshi peacekeeper has been killed in the Central African Republic (CAR), raising the number of United Nations soldiers killed in separate attacks over the past few days to three.

The Bangladeshi peacekeeper was killed in the northwest of the country in Bokayai on Tuesday, when "the convoy he was traveling in was returning from a patrol in the region," the UN mission said on Friday.

The UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) said in a statement that the Bangladeshi peacekeepers "came under fire from around 50 attackers."

"The driver of the vehicle was fatally shot in the head. The Bangladeshi soldiers responded to the attack," MINUSCA said.

On Wednesday, MINUSCA said two Moroccan peacekeepers had been killed in an attack the day before in the remoter southeast of the country as their convoy was escorting fuel trucks.

The 12,500-strong MINUSCA peacekeeping mission was deployed in December 2013 under the aegis of the African Union and with the support of France, the former colonial ruler of the region.

France officially ended its CAR mission in October.

The Central African Republic is struggling to emerge from a brutal civil war that erupted in 2013 following the overthrow of former Christian President Francois Bozize by the Seleka coalition.

On July 23, 2014, representatives of the two sides signed a ceasefire agreement in the Congolese capital, Brazzaville, but peace and stability are still lacking in the country.

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