A Moroccan soldier serving with the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) and a Congolese interpreter have died in a road accident in the country’s troubled eastern region, the UN confirmed on Wednesday.
According to a statement from MONUSCO, on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, the UN’s peacekeeping force in DR Congo, the fatal incident occurred when their vehicle veered off the road and plunged into a ravine roughly 13 kilometres south of Kitchanga, in North Kivu province.
“A blue helmet from the Moroccan rapid deployment battalion and a Congolese language assistant lost their lives in the accident,” the mission said.
Four other Moroccan peacekeepers were injured in the crash and have been transferred to a UN hospital in Goma, the provincial capital, which remains under the influence of the M23 armed group.
MONUSCO is among the UN’s largest peacekeeping deployments, with nearly 13,800 personnel stationed across DR Congo as of February 2025. The mission has operated in the country since 1999, amid ongoing conflict involving multiple armed groups.
To date, more than 400 UN personnel—both military and civilian—have lost their lives in the line of duty since the mission began.
