Peackeeper Chancy Chitete of Mali was killed in November last year during an operation in Congo

The United Nations on Monday announced that it will honour the "brave and selfless" action of a late UN peacekeeper from Mali, who sacrificed his life while saving his colleague during an operation against a local armed group last year.

In a statement, the UN said late Malawian soldier Chancy Chitete will be honoured with the UN's highest peacekeeping award by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at the UN headquarters in New York on Friday.

Mr Chitete, of Mali, was killed in November last year during an operation in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to combat the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an armed force that has been disrupting the UN's ongoing efforts to treat and halt the spread of the deadly Ebola virus.

Whilst fighting alongside other Malawian and Tanzanian peacekeepers attached to the UN Mission in DRC (MONUSCO), Chancy Chitete and his colleagues came under heavy fire. He and his team fought back, allowing other troops to tactically withdraw, the statement said.

Seeing an injured Tanzanian peacekeeper, Corporal Ali Khamis Omary, Mr Chitete dragged him to safety and gave him first-aid. While helping his colleague he was shot and killed. Chancy Chitete's heroism and sacrifice helped the peacekeepers to achieve their objective of dislodging the ADF forces from their stronghold and saved the life of Corporal Omary.

"The remarkable actions of Mr Chitete helped protect many lives, both civilian and military," UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix said.

The award is officially named as the "Captain Mbaye Diagne Medal for Exceptional Courage". It was established in 2014 for uniformed and civilian personnel who meet the criteria and is named after the late UN peacekeeper Captain Diagne, who saved hundreds of lives in Rwanda in 1994, before being killed.