The Foreign ministry has asked the UN peace keeping mission monitoring office in the New York, USA to provide details of the Nepali peacekeepers killed and abducted in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Talking to Nepalnews on Tuesday, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) Yadav Khanal said that they are yet to get additional information regarding the death of one Nepali soldier and abduction of seven others during a clash with Congolese insurgents on Sunday.

The clash occurred in Ituri district.

“We get information only through the UN office. We have asked information on the incident but are yet to receive it,” said Khanal.

Officials at the Directorate of Public Relation (DPR) of Nepali Army said they have not been able to access the latest situation of the injured and abducted soldiers despite repeated attempts. “We hope to get more information by tomorrow morning as we have been asking the peace keeping mission office in Congo directly,” the official said.

One Nepali peacekeeper was killed and three others injured in the clash with insurgents in Congo while seven others have been taken hostage by the militants.

The army stated said a Nepali peacekeeper was killed in a clash that ensued during the cordon and search operation jointly carried out the 5th mission of Nepali Army under the UN and Congo’s government troops against the insurgents.

The three injured peacekeepers are undergoing treatment at the UN’s Level-2 Hospital. The DPR said that the seven personnel taken hostage by the militants are safe and efforts are underway by the UN for their release.

The militants demanded US$20,000 ransom for the release of each peacekeeper.

There are 17,000 UN peacekeepers from different countries currently stationed in Congo.