RDCongo Governor Says 5 Civilians Dead in UN Helicopter Attack

kinsasha: The governor of North-Kivu province in troubled eastern DRCongo told AFP today that five civilians had been killed in a UN helicopter attack against rebel fighters this week.

Governor Julien Paluku told AFP by phone that the attack occurred on Monday, according to "a delegation" he received that had visited the scene.

"The delegation confirms that MONUSCO pounded a village essentially made up of civilians" and "as of today ... five civilians were killed," he said.

MONUSCO on Tuesday announced it had carried out an anti-rebel offensive the previous day near Pinga, in central North-Kivu, as part of "its mandate to protect civilians."

Asked for comment on Paluku's claim, the MONUSCO mission's public information chief Charles Bambara said it was too early to respond.
"These deaths are not officially confirmed," he said.

On Tuesday, Bambara said the UN peacekeeping mission had launched "targeted operations" in the Pinga region to end violence by rebels who had been burning villages in the area for several days.

"Combat helicopters are taking part," he had added.

The United Nations has 22,000 peacekeepers serving in the Democratic Republic of Congo's MONUSCO force, the United Nation's largest mission worldwide.