Bank MoonUNITED NATIONS, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) — UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday expressed his sadness at the death of a Tanzanian peacekeeper who was wounded during clashes in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

According to a statement issued here by Ban’s spokesperson, the peacekeeper was wounded last month when the M23 rebel military group directed artillery fire on a UN position close to Kibati heights, north of Goma.

On Aug. 28, the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) supported action by the Congolese Armed Forces (FARDC) in launching an attack against M23 positions on the Kibati heights. He was the second Tanzanian peacekeeper to die as a result of this attack.

In the statement, Ban “offers his sincere condolences and sympathy to the family of the victims, and to the government of the United Republic of Tanzania.””The Secretary-General condemns in the strongest terms the killing and wounding of MONUSCO peacekeepers,” the statement said, adding that the world body “remains committed to taking all necessary actions in line with Security Council resolution 2098 ( 2013)” to protect civilians in eastern DRC. Over the past year, the M23, along with other armed groups, have clashed repeatedly with the FARDC. The rebels briefly occupied Goma in November 2012. The fighting resumed last month, this time dragging in a group of Ugandan-based rebels. According to UN figures, the conflict has displaced more than 100,000 people, exacerbating the region’s ongoing humanitarian crisis, which includes 2.6 million internally displaced persons and 6.4 million in need of food and emergency aid.