Phnom Penh (FN),May 10 - Government officials confirmed that three missing Cambodian peacekeepers have been found dead.

In a statement released Wednesday, Cambodia's defense ministry said the three missing were found about two kilometers from the site where they were attacked Monday evening in the Central African Republic.  

The statement said one Cambodian peacekeeper was killed at the site of Monday's ambush, one was injured and three others went missing.

All found dead the next morning.

Two of the four deceased were drivers, one was medical staff and another was working as an assistant.

Hun Sen announced that although peacekeepers are at risk in certain areas, Cambodia will not rollback soldiers,  but will continue to dispatch more peacekeepers under the U.N. umbrella.

The premier urged the United Nations to ensure the safety of Cambodian peacekeepers.

A report by the Cambodian government showed that over the past decade, Cambodia has dispatched 3,557 Cambodian peacekeepers, mostly as deminers, to Sudan, South Sudan, Chad, Central African Republic, Libya, Syria, Mali, and Central Africa.

The U.N. peacekeeping mission was launched in Central African Republic in 2014 to protect civilians from sectarian violence.

The U.N. strongly condemned the attack.

"MINUSCA vigorously denounces this odious attack on peacekeepers whose presence on Central African soil has no other objective than to help the country to protect its population and to allow the Central African Republic to emerge from the cycle of violence caused by armed groups,” said a press release, referring to the U.N. Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in CAR by its French acronym.

Eight peacekeepers were also injured, including one Cambodian and seven Moroccans.

A helicopter and peacekeepers to secure the site and search for those missing in action.

A medevac plane evacuated the injured peacekeepers, who have arrived in Bangui and are receiving medical care.

The Mission made clear it will do everything possible to ensure that the perpetrators of the attack are arrested so that they can be brought to justice.

MINUSCA recalled that “harming the life of a peacekeeper can be considered a war crime and subject to prosecution.”
=FRESH NEWS