One peacekeeper killed in DRC after UN chopper comes under fire

A United Nations peacekeeper has been killed in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) when a helicopter operated by the peacekeeping force came under fire midair on Sunday, the UN mission called MONUSCO said.

The helicopter was able to land in the provincial capital, Goma. It was attacked after taking off from the city of Beni in the early afternoon.

Another peacekeeper was severely wounded in the attack, MONUSCO said in a statement, which did not say who might be responsible. The statement did not say what weapon was fired at the helicopter or what caused the casualties.

A UN peacekeeping mission of about 18,200 personnel has been deployed in the eastern DRC since taking over from a previous UN operation in 2010. Its mandate includes supporting the DRC government’s effort to stabilise a region racked by rebel violence.

Eight peacekeepers were killed last year when their helicopter crashed in North Kivu province, where the Congolese army was fighting the M23 rebel group.

Sunday’s incident comes just a day after leaders of the East African Community held a summit in Burundi’s capital Bujumbura and reiterated a “call to all parties to de-escalate tensions”.