GOMA: UN investigators said on Wednesday they had not ruled out any avenue in a probe into a helicopter crash in eastern DR Congo that killed eight UN peacekeepers, although one lead was a “shining object” that may have caused the incident.

Six Pakistanis, a Russian and a Serb were killed when a Puma helicopter with the UN mission MONUSCO crashed while on a reconnaissance mission over the troubled region.

The bodies of the eight peacekeepers have been taken to Goma, North Kivu’s capital, MONUSCO said.

Describing the incident, the media wing of Pakistani military had said on Tuesday: “While undertaking a reconnaissance mission in Congo, 1 PUMA Helicopter crashed. Exact cause of crash is yet to be ascertained.” The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the six martyred Pakistani peacekeepers were Lt Col Asif Ali Awan, Pilot Major Saad Nomani, Pilot Major Faizan Ali, Naib Subedar Sami Ullah Khan, Flight Engineer Havaldar Muhammad Ismail, and Crew Chief Lance Havaldar Muhamad Jamil, Gunner.

The ISPR’s statement added that Pakistan had 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.

Military authorities in North Kivu province accused the M23 rebel group of downing the chopper, though the faction denies the charge and instead blames the Congolese army.

“The initial preliminary observations of our force headquarters describe a crash that may have been caused by a shining object,” Khassim Diagne, the deputy special representative for protection and security at MONUSCO, told the French radio station RFI.

The mission’s deputy spokeswoman Ndeye Khady Lo confirmed this account. “The wreckage of the helicopter has been located, an inquiry is under way and should be able to ascertain more about the nature of this object,” she said.

The crash seems to have an “external” cause, she said, but stressed it was “premature” to rule out an accident.

Diagne, in his remarks to RFI, said that investigators were not ruling out any scenario, including “an attack”.

The helicopter came down in the Tchanzu area of Rutshuru Territory, where the army and the M23 rebels had been fighting the day before.

The M23 — its name derives from “March 23 Movement” — emerged years ago from an ethnic Tutsi Congolese rebellion in North Kivu that was once supported by Rwanda and Uganda. The group was defeated by the army in 2013 but has resurfaced since November, accused of staging several raids on military positions around Rutshuru.

The crash came after the Congolese army accused Rwanda of backing the M23, charges Kigali denied on Tuesday.

After months of suspicion and decades of mistrust between DR Congo and its neighbour Rwanda, the Congolese army claimed they had captured two Rwandan soldiers on Monday in the area of the fighting.

Published in Dawn, March 31st, 2022