Phnom Penh, Cambodia (FN), May 9 - A convoy of U.N. Peacekeepers in the Central African Republic were attacked during an apparent ambush Monday morning.

One Cambodian soldier was killed and another wounded.

Additionally, three Cambodian peacekeepers were reported missing after the attack in the volatile African country.

It is unclear if they are being held for ransom.

It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the assault.

The United Nations launched the peacekeeping mission in 2014.

There are more than 12,000 troops deployed to protect civilians from unprecedented deadly violence between Christian and Muslim factions.

Speaking at the inauguration of a new provincial hall in Cambodia's eastern Tboung Khmom province, Prime Minister Hun Sen shared the news of the guerrilla attack.

The Premier has urged the U.N. to pay attention and take responsibility for the peacekeeper's fates.

He said the Cambodian troops were part of an engineering unit that was helping to build roads, bridges and other infrastructure.

The ambush took place as the Cambodians were returning to their base, Hun Sen said, adding that the troops were being escorted by Moroccan peacekeepers at the time.

The Central African Republic has faced sporadic violence and instability after years of sectarian fighting, with some 890,000 people displaced inside the country and into neighboring Cameroon, according to the U.N.

Over the past decade, Cambodia has dispatched over 3,500 peacekeepers-mostly in the capacity of deminers to Sudan, South Sudan, Chad, The Central African Republic, Libya, Syria, Mali, and Central Africa.

Over the weekend, the U.N. said four international aid groups would temporarily withdraw their workers from parts of northern Central African Republic because of increasing violence targeting them.

In 1993, Cambodia hosted peacekeepers during the first general election.
=FRESH NEWS