On 29 March 2022, a

Puma helicopter Puma or PUMA may refer to: Animals * ''Puma'' (genus), a genus in the family Felidae ** Puma (species) or cougar, a large cat Businesses and organisations * Puma (brand), a multinational shoe and sportswear company * Puma Energy, a mid- and d ...

belonging to the Pakistan Army's aviation division and assigned to the

United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or MONUSCO, an acronym based on its French name , is a United Nations peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) which was estab ...

(MONUSCO) crashed during a reconnaissance mission over the province of

North Kivu North Kivu (french: link=no, Nord-Kivu) is a province bordering Lake Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its capital is Goma. North Kivu borders the provinces of Ituri to the north, Tshopo to the northwest, Maniema to the so ...

, Democratic Republic of Congo. The crash killed all eight UN Peacekeepers on board, six from

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

and one each from Russia and

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

. Pakistan's Ambassador to the UN,

Munir Akram Munir Akram ( ur, منير اکرم) (born 2 December 1945) is a Pakistani diplomat currently serving for the second time as Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations. He had previously held the post from 2002 to 2008, during ...

, confirmed the identities' of the soldiers on board the helicopter.

Events

On 29 March, MONUSCO lost contact with a helicopter on a

reconnaissance mission In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmishers, ...

in eastern Congo, in the area around the village of Tshanzu, southeast of the more regionally important town of

Rutshuru Rutshuru is a town located in the North Kivu province of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, and is headquarters of an administrative district, the Rutshuru Territory. The town lies in the western branch of the Albertine Rift between Lak ...

. A search and rescue operation recovered the bodies later that day and took them to

Goma Goma is the capital of North Kivu province in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is located on the northern shore of Lake Kivu, next to the Rwandan city of Gisenyi. The lake and the two cities are in the Albertine Rift, the weste ...

, the province's capital. The

Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo The Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: Forces armées de la république démocratique du Congo ARDC is the state organisation responsible for defending the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The FARDC was rebuilt pa ...

said the helicopter crash was intentionally shot down by the rebel

March 23 Movement The March 23 Movement (french: Mouvement du 23 mars), often abbreviated as M23 and also known as the Congolese Revolutionary Army (''Armée révolutionnaire du Congo''), is a rebel military group that is for the most part formed of ethnic Tutsi. ...

(M23), which had launched an

offensive Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

against the government shortly before the crash. M23 spokesman Willy Ngoma accused the Congolese government of lying, saying that the group suspected the military to be responsible. Fighting between the Congolese army and the M23 had been going on for several days before the crash in North Kivu.

Reactions

Prime Minister of Pakistan The prime minister of Pakistan ( ur, , romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen cabinet, despite the president of Paki ...

Imran Khan Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi ( ur}; born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician and former Cricket captain who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 2018 to until April 2022, when he was ousted through a no-confidenc ...

said that he was filled with a "deep sense of horror and grief," thanking the Pakistani military for their operations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:MONUSCO helicopter crash, 2022 2022 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Aviation accidents and incidents in 2022 March 2022 events in Africa Aviation accidents and incidents in the Democratic Republic of the Congo History of the United Nations North Kivu Democratic Republic of the Congo–Pakistan relations Democratic Republic of the Congo–Serbia relations Democratic Republic of the Congo–Russia relations M23 offensive (2022) 2022 disasters in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Events

Reactions

See also

References