THE U.N. mission in the Central African Republic (CAR) strongly condemns an attack by members of the presidential guard, which wounded 10 peacekeepers, a U.N. spokesman said Tuesday.

Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said the attack on members of an Egyptian police peacekeeping unit “appears to be a deliberate and unjustifiable attack” on the blue helmets.

A civilian died in a related accident, Haq said.

The mission, known as MINUSCA, reported the peacekeepers were shot and wounded, including two seriously, by members of the presidential guard in the capital of Bangui on Monday, he said. The Egyptian police officers landed at Bangui’s airport earlier in the day.

They are part of the periodic rotation and deployment of troops in the country.

“They were on their way to their base when they suffered heavy fire from members of the presidential guard,” he said. “The mission said in a statement that the police officers were fired at without any warning or response. They were unarmed.” (Xinhua)