Rabat – Two Moroccan peacekeepers, contributing to UN peace efforts, died last week in the south-east of the Central African Republic.
The UN Peacekeeping Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) announced the news today in a tweet.
“The Special Representative of the SG @ONU_FR,@VRugwabiza, & the leadership of #MINUSCA paid tribute, on 06/14, to the 02 Moroccan peacekeepers who died in Bangassou (East #RCA ??) on 06/12,” the tweet said.
MINUSCA added that the slain peacekeepers’ remains will be repatriated to Morocco.
In May, UNSG Antonio Guterres paid tribute to over 4,200 peacekeepers, including two Moroccan nationals.
The tribute came on Peacekeepers Day, during which Guterres delivered the Dag Hammarskjold medal award to Morocco’s Permanent Representative to Morocco to the UN, Omar Hilale, in recognition of the sacrifice and courage of Moroccan peacekeepers.
A recent study by the Diplomatic Courier’s Good Country Index (GCI) ranked Morocco first in terms of global contribution to international peace and security.
According to the index, Morocco has over the years sent more peacekeeping troops overseas to UN missions than any other country.
Over 1,700 Moroccan soldiers and police personnel are deployed in UN operations in the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, and South Sudan.
Jean Tobie Okala, a senior UN Official, reacted to the news of the death of the two Moroccan soldiers by “sincerely” commending Morocco’s peacekeeping efforts in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
As many regions across the Central African Republic crumbled over the past years under the weight of a lingering civil conflict, Okala argued, the presence of Moroccan UN peacekeepers has been essential in sustaining local populations’ survival.
“I would sincerely like to salute the contribution of the Moroccan expedition to the United Nations [Peacekeeping] Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo,” said the UN official.
