By Fethi Djebali
BANGUI
A peacekeeper from the U.N.'s mission to the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) has been killed in the first attack on the mission in capital Bangui, a source from the International Committee of the Red Cross said Friday.
The Pakistani U.N. peacekeeper was killed on Thursday during an attack by yet-unknown assailants on a MINUSCA checkpoint, the source, requesting anonymity, told Anadolu Agency.
Eight other peacekeepers were seriously injured during the attack, the source said.
This is the first attack on the U.N. mission since its troops began to deploy around civil war-ravaged Central African Republic in mid-September.
Meanwhile, the source said that eight people were also killed Thursday night and 21 others injured in clashes between Muslims and Christians in Bangui.
Two days ago, five people were killed during intense Muslim-Christian clashes in Bangui after a young Muslim was reportedly burned to death in the capital's predominantly Christian Gobongo neighborhood.
Since last year, the minerals-rich Central African Republic has been plagued by tit-for-tat sectarian violence between Christian anti-balaka militiamen and Muslim seleka fighters.
Anti-Muslim violence escalated after the country's president, Michel Djotodia, stepped down in January. He was replaced by Catherine Samba-Panza, a Christian who had formerly served as Bangui mayor.
Christians, who account for the majority of the country's population, accuse Muslims of supporting former seleka rebels blamed for attacking Christian homes, looting property and carrying out summary executions.
In May of this year, the United Nations Security Council mandated the 12,000-troop MINUSCA, which began deploying in September.
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