UN evacuates five Tanzania peacekeepers wounded in DR Congo attack to Uganda for treatment

KAMPALA, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- The UN has evacuated five Tanzanian peacekeepers who were wounded in last week's deadly attack by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) to Uganda for further treatment.

Rosa Malango, UN Resident Coordinator in Uganda, told Xinhua on Thursday that the five blue helmets who were among the 53 wounded in the Thursday night attack last week in DR Congo's North Kivu province, have been admitted at Nakasero Hospital in the capital, Kampala.

"At this point these [five] are the only wounded Tanzanian peacekeepers receiving treatment in Kampala," said Malango.

Jean - Pierre Lacroix, the UN Under Secretary General for peacekeeping on Wednesday visited the five wounded at Nakasero Hospital on his way to Tanzania to attend the Thursday memorial service for 14 fallen Tanzanian peacekeepers killed during the attack.

Since its establishment in 2010, the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the DR Congo has recorded 93 fatalities in military, police and civilian personnel, according to UN figures.

ADF which was originally based in western Uganda but fled to eastern DR Congo has been accused of increased killings and massacres of troops and civilians, rape and abductions over the past three months in eastern DR Congo.

The rebel group attack in DR Congo has killed 14 Tanzanian peacekeepers and five DR Congo soldiers while wounding 53 others. Enditem