Seven MFO peacekeepers killed in helicopter crash in Sinai Peninsula

CAIRO – 12 November 2020: Seven international peacekeeping forces were killed in a helicopter crash due to a technical malfunction in the Sinai Peninsula on 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 survived peacekeeper is American and was medically evacuated, the statement added. The names of the killed soldiers were being “withheld pending notification of next of kin,” the statement said.

 

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.