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Rebels Shoot at U.N. Helicopters in DRC
A helicopter belonging to the United Nations observer mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was shot at Monday during a routine supply mission over the rebel-held town of Zongo, but there were no casualties, a U.N. spokesman said here Tuesday.
The U.N. spokesman, Fred Eckhard, told a press conference here that "a U.N. helicopter was hit by small arms fire over the town of Zongo in the northern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo near the border with the Central African Republic."
"There was no casualties in Monday's incident and the aircraft landed safely at Banui airport," he said.
Later Monday, Jean-Pierre Bemba, leader of the Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC) that controls Zongo, telephoned U.N. Special Representative Kamel Morjane and apologized for the incident, explaining that the shooting was a personal lapse by one soldier who had been arrested and would be put on trial, said the spokesman.
"Bemba promised a written apology and assured that U.N. aircraft could continue to fly without restrictions over territory his group controlled," Eckhard said.
Rebels backed by Rwanda and Uganda have been fighting the DRC government of President Laurent Kabila since 1998. A cease-fire has been agreed on, but it is widely flouted by all sides, reports said.
More than 90 military observers are deployed throughout the DRC and in the capitals of the countries involved in the war.
The United Nations Security Council has approved the deployment of 500 observers and 5,000 peacekeepers to protect them, but their deployment has been delayed because of the continued violations of the cease-fire agreement on the ground.
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