Malawi government on Saturday welcomed the body of a soldier who was killed in the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) on May 10.

The Malawian peacekeeper, Lance Corporal Chitenji Kamanga, 28, was killed in an offensive by rebels at Beni, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Her body arrived in Malawi Saturday afternoon through Kamuzu International Airport and it was welcomed by Homeland Security minister Richard Chimwendo, and Malawi Defence Force (MDF) Commander General Vincent Nundwe, among others.

The Homeland Security Officer described the death of the Malawi soldier as a great loss to Malawi Defence Force and Malawi as a whole.

"This signifies the extent Malawian soldiers can go in sacrificing their lives for peace not only for Malawians but for people in other countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo," said Chimwendo, who represented President Lazarus Chakwera at the event.

Nundwe also described Kamanga's death as a big loss to the country's Defence Force.

"We are very sad to have lost one of our own soldiers, this is the first time that we have lost a female soldier in a peace-keeping mission," said Nundwe.