14 UN peacekeepers killed in 'huge' DR Congo attack
Rebels have attacked a United Nations peacekeeping base in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing at least 14 peacekeepers and wounding 40 others.
It is the worst violence against the mission in the Central African country in years.
Deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said the peacekeepers were mainly from Tanzania and that at least five Congolese soldiers were also killed in the assault, blamed on a rebel group based in neighbouring Uganda.
"It's a very huge attack, certainly the worst in recent memory," Mr Haq said.
The peacekeeping base is located about 45 kilometres (27 miles) from the town of Beni, which has been repeatedly hit by rebels from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebel group.
The base is home to the peacekeeping mission's rapid intervention force, which has a rare mandate to go on the offensive, according to Radio Okapi, which is backed by the UN mission.
The radio station, citing military sources, said fighting lasted four hours.
DR Congo, a country the size of Western Europe, has seen immeasurable cruelty and greed as a result of its vast mineral resources.
The nation suffered through one of the most brutal colonial reigns ever known before undergoing decades of corrupt dictatorship.
Outraged by the attack against @MONUSCO in #NorthKivu DRC last evening, where a large number of @UN peacekeepers have been killed & wounded. Our thoughts & prayers with families & our colleagues in @MONUSCO. Reinforcements are on scene & medical evacuations by Mission ongoing. pic.twitter.com/l84tFHYKMR
— Jean-Pierre Lacroix (@Lacroix_UN) December 8, 2017
Back-to-back civil wars later drew in a number of neighbouring countries.
The conflicts have been numerous since the UN mission's arrival in 1999.
Many rebel groups have come and gone, at times invading the regional capital Goma.
One of the greatest threats in the region now comes from the ADF.
Human rights groups say its fighters have killed about 1,000 people in the past three years.
The UN mission in 2006 helped carry out DR Congo's first free and fair elections in 46 years, but since then the winner of that vote, President Joseph Kabila, has become further entrenched in his post.
Anger has grown as presidential elections originally set for late last year have been repeatedly delayed.
