UNITED NATIONS
\nUnited Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is \u201cdeeply saddened\u201d over the loss of eight UN peacekeepers\u2013 six Pakistanis, a Russian and a Serb\u2013 on Tuesday when a Puma helicopter carrying them on a reconnaissance mission crashed in the troubled eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), his spokesman said in a statement.
\nThe statement, released by Spokesman Stephane Dujarric Tuesday evening, said the peacekeepers\u2019 bodies were recovered from the North Kivu region during a search and rescue operation launched by the UN Stabilization Mission in the DR Congo (MONUSCO).
\n\u201cThe Secretary-General expresses his sincere condolences to the bereaved families and to the Governments of Pakistan, the Russian Federation and the Republic of
\nSerbia, whose troops were among the casualties,\u201d the statement said.
\n\u201cAn investigation is underway,\u201d the UN chief added.
\nAnd in a phone call with Pakistan\u2019 s Ambassador to the United Nations, Munir Akram, the Secretary-General assured him of a \u201ccomprehensive and transparent\u201d investigation into the incident that has shocked the nation, according to Pakistani mission to the UN.
\n\u201cThe helicopter, operated by the Pakistani contingent, was on a reconnaissance mission in the area of Tshanzu, where there have been clashes between the
\nM23 group and the Armed Forces of the DR of Congo (FARDC) in recent days,\u201d the UN chief said in a his statement.
\nThe M23, a rebel organization, has regrouped after being routed nearly a decade ago by DRC troops and UN peacekeepers and it has launched attacks on the DRC military.
\nIntense fighting between the M23 and the DRC forces was reported starting Sunday
\nCongolese military authorities in North Kivu said the M23 rebel group had \u201cshot down\u201d the aircraft, a claim not yet confirmed by other sources, according to a media report.
\n\u201cThe Secretary-General is deeply concerned by the resurgence of M23 activities in the tri-border area around Rwanda-DRC-Uganda as well as the ongoing impact of violence involving armed groups on civilians,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
UNITED NATIONS United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is \u201cdeeply saddened\u201d over the loss of eight UN peacekeepers\u2013 six Pakistanis, a Russian and a Serb\u2013 on Tuesday when a Puma helicopter carrying them on a reconnaissance mission crashed in the troubled eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), his spokesman said in a statement. The statement, released […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":252261,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[5474,5496,5497,3217],"class_list":{"0":"post-252250","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-congo","9":"tag-helicopter-crash","10":"tag-pakistani-peacekeepers","11":"tag-un-chief"},"yoast_head":"\n