2 South African peacekeepers injured in attack on UN helicopter in DR Congo
Anjali Sharma
GG News Bureau
UNITED NATIONS, 3rd Feb. According to the UN mission in DRC on Friday 2 South African peacekeepers were injured, one seriously, in an attack on a UN helicopter in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
UN spokesman Stepahne Dujarric told reporters in New York that the helicopter from the UN Mission in the country, MONUSCO, was carrying out a medical evacuation when it came under fire from presumed members of the M23 armed group in the Karuba region, located in Masisi territory, North Kivu province.
The helicopter was able to land safely in the provincial capital, Goma, and the peacekeepers received medical treatment.
MONUSCO chief Bintou Keita strongly condemned the attack, which comes almost a year after a similar incident caused the death of a South African peacekeeper.
UN Mission will spare no effort, in cooperation with the Congolese authorities, to bring the perpetrators to justice.
The head of UN Peacekeeping deplored the attack in a post on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, underscoring that UN ‘blue helmets’ should not be targeted.
