UN says 1 peacekeeper killed and 11 hurt in CAR attack

UNITED NATIONS – The United Nations says one peacekeeper has been killed and 11 others injured in an exchange of fire following an attack by mostly Christian anti-Balaka militias in Central African Republic.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric says the early Tuesday attack took place at a temporary U.N. peacekeeping base in Tagbara, about 60 miles northeast of Bambari.

Separately, he said the U.N. mission reported that it later discovered the bodies of 21 civilians, including four women and four children, in Tagbara.

Dujarric said U.N. peacekeepers were informed Monday evening that a militant group had detained 23 people in Tagbara. He said they were released peacefully to U.N. peacekeepers.

On Saturday, he said, U.N. peacekeepers and CAR forces rescued 15 people who had been taken hostage by the Lord's Resistance Army rebel group.