"Unidentified assailants ambushed United Nations peacekeepers from Guatemala in the restive eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Monday, sparking an hours-long gun battle that left eight UN troops dead, officials said.
Fourteen UN peacekeepers were wounded in the attack in Garamba National Park, near Congo's borders with Sudan and Uganda in the region of Ituri, UN spokesperson Kemal Saiki said. He had no information the attackers' identities, but said rebels from Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army are known to operate in the region." [More]
CNN: "The Brazilian commander of U.N. peacekeepers in Haiti was found dead on the balcony of his hotel room Saturday after shooting himself in the head, authorities said, in a blow to the 9,000-strong force and efforts to restore democracy in Haiti."
"Mark Regev, a spokesman for Israel's foreign ministry, said that the idea of Israeli troops serving as UN peacekeepers had been raised in the 1990s but received new momentum recently. "In light of our improved standing at the United Nations, we are exploring greater membership and involvement in a number of UN agencies." [MORE]
Every day, in field operations around the world, men and women serve under the flag of the United Nations to build and maintain peace, to relieve human suffering, and to promote human rights and sustainable development. Link (pdf)
There are 66,000 military and 15,000 civilian peacekeepers.
115 members of those missions paid the highest price for their dedication to peace in 2004, with 39 more already killed during 2005.
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"It is most obvious in Congo, which commands by far the largest deployment of United Nations troops in the world. Peacekeepers in armored personnel carriers, facing enemy sniper attacks as they lumber through rugged dirt paths in the eastern Ituri region, are returning fire. Attack helicopters swoop down over the trees in search of tribal fighters. And peacekeepers are surrounding villages in militia strongholds and searching hut by hut for guns." Full Story
"The United Nations will end its peacekeeping mission in East Timor today, marking the country's transition to a viable and peaceful state, the international body said in a statement. East Timor President Xanana Gusmao and the UN's special representative Sukehiro Hasegawa held a ceremony in the capital, Dili, yesterday to bid farewell to the peacekeepers who have kept the country secure since 24 years of Indonesian rule ended in bloodshed and widespread destruction in 1999." More...
"United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan began a Mideast trip Sunday to promote Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts and attend the opening of a Holocaust museum in Jerusalem.
Annan's spokesman said the U.N. chief offered to help coordinate peace efforts between Israel and the Palestinians.... Annan has won praise in Israel for his tough stance on terrorism and the U.N. role in resolving a border dispute with Lebanon after Israel withdrew its forces from the country in 2000." Full Story