The UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations has said the recent deaths of five peacekeepers in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo has only strengthened their determination to bring peace to the unstable region.
The statement was made earlier today at a base in the city of Goma during a tribute ceremony for four UN peacekeepers killed during anti-UN protests in the east last week.
A tribute was also paid to another peacekeeper who died in the country fighting the M23 rebel group.
The ceremony comes a day after UN peacekeepers opened fire and killed two residents in Kasindi, a town in DR Congo that borders Uganda.
Frustration over what residents in DR Congo see as an inability by the UN peacekeeping force to stop attacks by armed groups in the region has been brewing, erupting into violent protests last week.
The protestors attacked two UN bases in Goma and in Butembo, where four UN peacekeepers were killed.
Two of the peacekeepers were Moroccan and the other two were Indian, all had worked in DR Congo for the UN for less than six months – with one of those killed being stationed for only two months and 22 days.
In June UN peacekeeping forces withdrew from a different eastern province – Tanganyika – after what they described as an improvement in the security situation.