Congo’s army said rebels in the country’s east shot down a United Nations helicopter carrying eight peacekeepers and U.N. observers on Tuesday and the U.N. said there were no survivors.
Six Pakistani officers and soldiers were among eight United Nations peacekeepers who lost their lives as a Puma helicopter crashed while undertaking a reconnaissance mission in Congo, the military's media affairs wing said on Tuesday.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement that the six Pakistani martyred officers and soldiers were identified as Lt Col Asif Ali Awan, who was the pilot, Maj Saad Nomani, who was the co-pilot, Maj Faizan Ali, naib subedar Samiullak Khan, who was the flight engineer, havaldar Muhammad Ismail, who was the crew chief and lance havaldar Muhamad Jamil, who was the gunner.
Exact cause of the crash is yet to be ascertained, the ISPR said.
The statement said an aviation mission of Pakistan was deployed in UN Mission Congo on peacekeeping duties since 2011.
"Pakistan has always played a pivotal role as a responsible member of the international community to help realise ideals of global peace and security through active support in various UN peacekeeping missions," the statement read.
"Our peacekeepers have always distinguished themselves in executing challenging peacekeeping tasks in conflict-prone areas through devotion and, if necessary, [by] rendering supreme sacrifices."
The UN peacekeeping mission said one of its helicopters had disappeared in the Chanzu area, which was attacked by fighters from the M23 group on Sunday night.
U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said later that a search and rescue operation found the wreckage and there were no survivors. The bodies of the eight men were brought to Goma, eastern Congo’s largest city, he said.
“We convey our condolences to the governments and families of the six crew members from Pakistan and the two military staff from Russia and Serbia,” Dujarric said. “An investigation into the circumstances of the crash is underway.”
Earlier, Dujarric confirmed the helicopter was there to monitor the situation where there had been fighting, but asked for patience as to the cause of its crash.
Eastern Congo is prone to insecurity as several armed groups are vying for control of its mineral-rich lands. In 2012 the M23 rebels controlled large areas of eastern Congo, including the provincial capital of Goma. The rebels were eventually pushed from eastern Congo into Uganda and Rwanda in 2013 by Congolese and United Nations forces.
Despite ongoing efforts to disarm the group, M23 rebels have recently increased their attacks in the region.
The Red Cross says about 6,000 people have fled into neighbouring Uganda where they are being taken to a refugee camp.
DR Congo has accused Rwandan troops of backing the M23, an allegation denied by Kigali.
