US ambassador offers condolences for peacekeepers helicopter accident victims

CAIRO – 12 November 2020: The United states ambassador in Egypt Jonathan R. Cohen offered condolences for the peacekeepers helicopter accident’ victims who died, Thursday due to technical failure in the helicopter.

“We were deeply saddened to learn of the death of eight Multinational Force and Observers personnel in a helicopter crash.” The embassy said in a statement, adding that the victims, who were six Americans, one Frenchman, and one Czech have ‘epitomized the noble spirit of preserving peace’.

“Our deepest condolences to their families and the MFO.  We will remember their sacrifice and service in the name of peace” the statement added.

Eight international peacekeeping forces were killed in a helicopter crash due to a technical malfunction in the Sinai Peninsula Thursday, announced the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) in a statement.

The killed peacekeepers include five Americans, French and Czech soldiers. The crashed helicopter was carrying eight peacekeepers and belongs to the MFO tasked with monitoring the borders between Egypt and Israel in accordance with the Egypt-Israel Peace Accord.

The MFO announced that it would conduct an investigation into the accident, praising the recovery efforts exerted by the Egyptian and Israeli sides.

In October 2020, an Egyptian peacekeeper in the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) was killed after an explosive device hit a mission vehicle in Kidal town, northern Mali.