A United Nations helicopter was shot down by rebels over eastern Congo yesterday. This is reported by the Congolese army. Eight UN soldiers and observers were on board the helicopter.
The Congolese army, together with UN troops, searches for the crashed helicopter and any survivors. The soldiers and observers on board came from Pakistan, Russia and Serbia. A UN spokesman says the exact cause of the crash has yet to be investigated, but confirms that the helicopter flew over the area where the fighting took place.
gold mines
The UN helicopter conducted a reconnaissance mission over eastern Congo, where there has been a lot of violence against civilians recently. Different rebel groups been fighting there for years for soil rich in minerals. They control gold mines and other mining areas in the country. Violence escalates at times. Millions of Congolese have fled in recent decades.
The Islamist Allied Democratic Forces and the M23 group, among others, regularly cause civilian casualties. M23 attacked several villages on Monday. UN troops, who have been in the country since 1999, have also been attacked by rebels before. The Blue Helmets have a mandate to actively fight against the rebel groups.
Battles at the Border
Uganda’s army says it killed 14 M23 rebels on Tuesday. A number of rebels have also been captured. This happened during fighting on the border with Congo. According to the army, houses on the Ugandan side were shelled by M23. A Ugandan soldier was killed.
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