Car Bomb Blast in Central African Republic Injures 3 UN Peacekeepers

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – A car carrying UN peacekeepers was blown up in the southwest of the Central African Republic (CAR), injuring three workers, the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) said.

The incident occurred on Thursday at around 11.00 local time (09:00 GMT) when a convoy of peacekeepers left the city of Berberati towards temporary military posts located about 62 miles away.

"Three Tanzanian MINUSCA peacekeepers were injured, including one seriously, on Thursday morning near the Batouri Bole in the prefecture of Mambéré-Kadéï (southwest of the Central African Republic) when their car was blown up by an unidentified explosive device. The seriously wounded soldier was taken to Bouar for treatment before his evacuation to Bangui", the mission said in a statement issued overnight Friday.

MINUSCA decried the use of explosive devices by CAR armed groups, which led to numerous casualties across the country, it read.

A Patria Pasi armored personnel carrier stands guard as part of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA)

© MINUSCA

Hostilities broke out in CAR in 2013 after then-President Francois Bozize was toppled by rebels, who also took over the CAR capital of Bangui. The city has since turned into a battlefield between militants of former Islamist movement Seleka and its Christian-majority antagonists, known as Anti-Balaka.

Next year, the UN deployed a contingent to the conflict-torn country to ensure the protection of civilians amid the conflict.