UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned Wednesday's attack by suspected Mai-Mai elements against a team of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), said his spokesman.

The UNHCR team was on its way back to the city of Beni after distributing humanitarian aid to people displaced by violence and to vulnerable families from the host community. The team was escorted by a patrol of the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC, known by its French acronym as MONUSCO, said Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman, in a statement.

Three UNHCR staff members were wounded in the attack. MONUSCO dispatched reinforcement to the scene and provided medical evacuation to the wounded, he said.

The secretary-general wished a speedy and full recovery to the wounded staff members and emphasized that attacks against UN personnel and humanitarian workers may constitute a war crime. He called on the Congolese authorities to spare no effort in investigating and promptly holding accountable the perpetrators of this unacceptable attack, said the statement.

The secretary-general reaffirmed his continued support to all humanitarian workers in their efforts to deliver assistance to the Congolese people, it said. Enditem

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