A UN helicopter was struck by rebel fire on Thursday in the Semuliki valley in eastern DR Congo, according to UN sources, but the aircraft landed safely and no one was hurt.
French General Bernard Commins, deputy head of the Monusco peacekeeping force, said the crew responded in self-defence after the aircraft was targeted. He said the helicopter had been hit, even though it was able to land without difficulty.
The shooting took place in the Beni area, where eight UN peacekeepers were killed the previous week in fighting with the Allied Democratic Forces, a Ugandan jihadist group accused of repeated attacks on civilians.
The ADF has operated in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo since 1995. It was also blamed for an attack in November last year at Semuliki near the Ugandan border that killed 15 peacekeepers.
In the latest major clash before the helicopter incident, eight peacekeepers were killed and 12 others injured, while 12 DRC soldiers supporting the UN force also died.
The group, which was pushed out of Uganda after opposing President Yoweri Museveni, is based in the jungle and remains active along the border in North Kivu province. It is led by Jamil Mukulu, described as a Christian who converted to Islam.
Authorities say the ADF has not mounted a large-scale attack inside Uganda, but it has been blamed for the deaths of hundreds of civilians since late 2014.
Monusco has about 17,000 personnel, making it one of the UN's largest peacekeeping missions. The force was created in 1999 during the Second Congo War and has an annual budget of $1.153 billion, or 1.02 billion euros.
The eastern region is also rich in coltan, a mineral used in electronic devices after refining.
