The helicopter he was traveling was on fire immediately after taking off from the city of Beni on Sunday, killing a UN peacekeeper in the unrest-plagued eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
In a statement released by his spokesperson, UN Secretary-General António Guterres strongly denounced the attack, which resulted in the death of the South African "blue helmet" and the injury of another.
According to news accounts, the critically hurt peacekeeper kept flying along with the rest of the crew and managed to land at the airfield in the provincial capital of Goma. Nobody has claimed responsibility for the incident, and it is unclear what weapon was employed.
Numerous armed organizations may be found in the eastern DRC, notably the rebel M23 force, which has been actively waging war against government forces recently with the assistance of the UN mission there, known by the French acronym MONUSCO, as part of its duty to protect civilians.
During the violence committed by armed groups against civilians, hundreds of people, including women and children, have died.
In a region of North Kivu province where the Congolese army was heavily involved in combat with M23 last March, eight peacekeepers were murdered when their helicopter crashed.
Regional officials reiterated their demand for an immediate ceasefire by combatants participating in the eastern DRC at the East African Community meeting held on Saturday in Burundi. Authorities in Kigali emphatically reject the accusation that the Rwandan Government is helping the M23 rebels, which Kinshasa has made.
Since late October, M23 has taken control of several districts in the eastern DRC's North Kivu province and has threatened to move on to the provincial capital.
Intense conflict in the region is said to have forced more than 500,000 people to flee since last March. Earlier this week, Pope Francis visited the DRC, asking for an end to the violence.
However, an agreement signed in November and called for the rebels' withdrawal never materialized. Bintou Keita, the director of MONUSCO and the Special Representative to the DRC, informed the Security Council in December and told the ambassadors that the security situation had "dramatically deteriorated" over the preceding weeks.
In his message, Mr. Guterres offered his sincere sympathies to the family of the slain peacekeeper and the South African government and people. Furthermore, he wished the injured victims of the dramatic helicopter landing a swift recovery.
Such assaults on peacekeepers "may constitute a war crime under international law," he noted. He urged the Congolese authorities to look into the horrific attack and swiftly bring those responsible to justice.
In a statement made through his Special Representative in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Secretary-General emphasizes that the UN will continue to help the Congolese people and government in their efforts to restore peace and stability in the country's east.
