U.N. says helicopter crashes in Congo with four aboard

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A U.N. peacekeeping helicopter crashed in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Saturday with four crew aboard, but a rescue team has yet to reach the site due to bad weather and difficult terrain, the United Nations said on Monday.

The U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo, known as MONUSCO, has a mandate to protect civilians and supports operations by the Congolese army. There are more than 17,000 troops in Congo - a country the size of Western Europe.

"MONUSCO reports that this past Saturday one of its helicopters with four crew on board went missing ... in South Kivu province," said U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky.

"The helicopter's wreckage has been located and a rescue team has arrived a few kilometers away from it. However due to bad weather and the difficult terrain the team has not yet been able to reach the crash site."

Nesirky said the United Nations was in close contact with Russia, which provided the helicopter for the peacekeeping mission, and that the cause of the crash and the fate of the crew was not yet known.

Peacekeepers have been stretched thin by an M23 rebellion in the resource-rich east of Congo and the U.N. Security Council is considering creating a special intervention force, which one senior council diplomat has said would be able to "search and destroy" the M23 rebels and other armed groups in the country.

M23 began taking parts of eastern Congo early last year, accusing the government of failing to honor a 2009 peace deal. That deal ended a previous rebellion and led to the rebels' integration into the army, but they have since deserted.

African leaders signed a U.N.-mediated accord late last month aimed at ending two decades of conflict in eastern Congo and paving the way for the intervention force.

The Congolese government said on Monday it hoped to sign a peace deal with the M23 rebels on March 15, but a rebel leader said more talks were needed.

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Mohammad Zargham)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-n-says-helicopter-crashes-congo-four-aboard-164858273.html

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