One peacekeeper killed in DRC after UN chopper comes under fire

Sunday’s incident comes a day after leaders of the East African Neighborhood held a summit on the DRC disaster, in Burundi.

Bangladeshi peacekeepers of the UN mission, are seen subsequent to a helicopter in Ituri area on this image launched on February 25, 2005 by UN mission within the nation [Reuters/UN]

A United Nations peacekeeper has been killed within the japanese Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) when a helicopter operated by the peacekeeping pressure got here beneath hearth midair on Sunday, the UN mission known as MONUSCO mentioned.

The helicopter was capable of land within the provincial capital, Goma. It was attacked after taking off from the town of Beni within the early afternoon.

One other peacekeeper was severely wounded within the assault, MONUSCO mentioned in an announcement, which didn't say who could be accountable. The assertion didn't say what weapon was fired on the helicopter or what precipitated the casualties.

Authorities in Kinshasa blamed the M23 insurgent group, which is in frequent fight with the Congolese military within the area, for attacking the plane. M23 spokesperson Willy Ngoma denied it and instructed Reuters information company it was not over M23 territory.

A UN peacekeeping mission of about 18,200 personnel has been deployed within the japanese DRC since taking on from a earlier UN operation in 2010. Its mandate consists of supporting the DRC authorities’s effort to stabilise a area racked by insurgent violence.

Eight peacekeepers have been killed final 12 months when their helicopter crashed in North Kivu province, the place the Congolese military was combating the M23 insurgent group.

Sunday’s incident comes only a day after leaders of the East African Neighborhood held a summit in Burundi’s capital Bujumbura and reiterated a “name to all events to de-escalate tensions”.