Two UN peacekeepers missing in Congo

In December 15, 15 Tanzanian members of MONUSCO were killed in the northeastern region of Beni when their position was attacked by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a Ugandan rebel militia. AFP PHOTO

What you need to know:

  • MONUSCO is the UN's biggest peacekeeping force, with its deployment dating to 1999. Today, it comprises more than 16,000 troops, 660 military observers and more than 1,450 police.
  • DRC's government wants the force to leave the country in 2020.

Two United Nations peacekeepers in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are listed as missing after their convoy came under attack in the country's restless southeast, the UN mission said on Tuesday.

"A peacekeeping convoy was attacked by mai-mai on Friday in Tanganyika (Province)," Florence Marchal, MONUSCO's spokeswoman, told AFP, referring to one of the many so-called self-defence groups operating in south-eastern DRC.
"Two troops in the Benin contingent have since been listed as missing. The whole mission is mobilised to find them."

Eleven other troops who were in the two-vehicle convoy are safe, Marchal said.

In December 15, 15 Tanzanian members of MONUSCO were killed in the northeastern region of Beni when their position was attacked by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a Ugandan rebel militia.

MONUSCO is the UN's biggest peacekeeping force, with its deployment dating to 1999. Today, it comprises more than 16,000 troops, 660 military observers and more than 1,450 police.

DRC's government wants the force to leave the country in 2020.