The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) members came under fire in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) when an Oryx helicopter was shot down.
On Sunday, SANDF confirmed one crew member was fatally shot while others “suffered injuries but managed to continue flying the chopper.
SANDF in DRC
The incident took place in Goma in the DRC, and the surviving crew members landed at Goma Airport.
SANDF head of communication Siphiwe Dlamini said the defence force was “in the process of informing family members of the soldiers who were involved in this unfortunate incident”.
According to United Nations, the aircraft – which was part of the mission called MONUSCO – came under fire while travelling from Beni to Goma, North Kivu province.
A ‘war crime’
UN secretary-general António Guterres “strongly condemned the attack” and expressed his deepest condolences “to the family of the fallen peacekeeper”.
He said, “attacks against United Nations peacekeepers may constitute a war crime under international law”.
Guterres also called on Congolese authorities “to investigate this heinous attack and swiftly bring those responsible to justice”.
MONUSCO mission
MONUSCO supports mobile courts to increase access to justice in remote areas and regularly trains police, corrections officers, and members of the judiciary to strengthen the rule of law.
As part of the MONUSCO mission, more than 18 200 personnel have been deployed to eastern DRC since 2010, with the mandate of supporting the local government to stabilise the region.
Eight members of the mission had been killed by a rebel group known as M23 in 2022 when their aircraft crashed in North Kivu.
This is a developing story; SANDF will provide more information in due course.
