UN chief condemns attack that killed four peacekeepers in C. Africa

Ten other peacekeepers were evacuated for medical treatment to Bangui, said a statement from the UN spokesman.

One peacekeeper is still missing following the attack late Monday by suspected anti-Balaka Christian militias in the southeast of the country, near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.

A Cambodian peacekeeper was killed during an exchange of gunfire with the assailants who abducted three other blue helmets.

The bodies of the three were found on Tuesday.

Guterres recalled that attacks against UN peacekeepers may constitute a war crime and called on Central African authorities to investigate in order to swiftly bring those responsible to justice.

The attack was the deadliest to target the blue helmets of the MINUSCA force, which was set up in 2014 to help stabilize the country following bloody sectarian fighting that erupted after the overthrow of leader Francois Bozize.

Among the dead were peacekeepers from Cambodia and Morocco.

MINUSCA is comprised of some 10,000 troops and 2,000 police.