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 mid-air, .The helicopter was said to land in the provincial capital, Goma. It was attacked after taking off from the city of Beni in the early hours
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.
Sunday’s incident comes just a day after leaders of the East African Community held a summit in Burundi’s capital and reiterated a “call to all parties to de-escalate tensions”.
