DRC-Rwanda tensions
The Secretary-General expressed outrage over the death of UNICEF’s Karine Buisset, who was killed in a drone strike on a building housing aid workers in Goma, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday in New York, U.N. spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said Buisset was a dedicated humanitarian who worked tirelessly to support children and families affected by conflict and crises.
The U.N., along with UNICEF, extended their deepest condolences to her families, her friends and her colleagues at UNICEF, Dujarric said.
A series of drone strikes hit Lake Kivu, and a private residence located some 164 feet from the home of former Congo President Joseph Kabila Kabange, according to the M23 rebel group and local residents.
M23 blamed the government for the attack. The government didn’t immediately respond to an AP request for comment.
The rebel group said the attack killed three people, but the number couldn’t be immediately confirmed.
Buisset, a French national and UNICEF employee, was in the residence and killed in the attack, M23 and residents said.
Dujarric reiterated that “the parties must ensure the protection of civilians and those providing lifesaving assistance. Humanitarian personnel must never be a target.”
According to OCHA, Buisset is the second humanitarian worker killed in the DRC this year. Since January, at least 92 incidents affecting humanitarian workers have been reported across the country.
Last year, more than 650 such incidents were recorded, with 13 humanitarian workers killed and 41 injured across the provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu, Ituri, Tanganyika and Maniema.
Dujarric also said peacekeepers with the U.N. mission in the country, known as MONUSCO, responded to emergency support and for an initial assessment of the strike.
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