One UN peacekeeper killed in fresh clashes in Bangui

One UN peacekeeper was killed and eight others injured in fresh clashes on Tuesday between the peacekeepers and fighters from the so-called Self Defence forces in the Central African Republic’s capital, Bangui.

Tuesday’s clash took place barely 48 hours after UN peacekeepers clashed with armed militias in Bangui’s PK5 district during a raid.

It is the first time a UN peacekeeper has been killed in the Central African Republic since 2016.

The AFP news agency reports that some 46 civilians were also injured during the exchange of fire between the two sides on Tuesday.

The Muslim dominated PK5 district has been at the heart of many violent attacks for several months disrupting commercial activities in the area.

A gunman opened fire on a UN base housing Egyptian and Jordanian peacekeepers on Sunday evening sparking a 30-minute gunfight.

The UN mission in the Central African Republic in a statement after Sunday’s attacks said it’s operation in the PK5 district would continue until the criminal groups operating in the area are dismantled or otherwise disappear

The Central African Republic was thrown into conflict after mainly Muslim Seleka rebels forced president Francois Bozize out of power in 2013, provoking revenge attacks and killings by the so-called “anti-balaka” armed groups, drawn largely from Christian communities.