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DRC: Girl killed, 32 peacekeepers and two civilians injured in explosion

DRC: Girl killed, 32 peacekeepers and two civilians injured in explosion

Democratic Republic Of Congo

A girl was killed, 32 Indian peacekeepers and two civilians were wounded Tuesday in Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo after an explosion.

The explosion occurred shortly before 6:30 local time (4:30 GMT), witnesses said.

“It was an explosive device of unclear origin,” Charles-Antoine Bambara, spokesman for the UN Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) told AFP in the evening.

According to a source close to MONUSCO who requested anonymity, the “attack deliberately targeted the peacekeepers because they were unarmed” and “the explosive device hidden in a can was remotely controlled.”

Santas Acenti Foruguta, a guard at the Catholic cathedral under construction nearby said they fled the sound of the explosion while standing behind the fence of the yard.

Mr. Bambara said investigation has been opened to determine the circumstances of the explosion.

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