1 UN peacekeeper killed, 8 hurt in Central African Republic

JOHANNESBURG – The United Nations says a Rwandan peacekeeper has been killed in Central African Republic and eight others have been wounded.

A statement by the spokesman for the secretary-general condemns the killing that occurred Tuesday during "an exchange of fire with armed elements" in the capital, Bangui.

The U.N. says the attack occurred two days after the U.N. peacekeeping mission and local security forces launched a joint operation in the largely Muslim neighborhood of PK5 to arrest armed criminal groups.

U.N. peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix is currently visiting the deeply impoverished Central African Republic, which has faced deadly interreligious and intercommunal fighting since 2013.