{An unmanned aircraft used by U.N. peacekeepers in Democratic Republic of Congo crashed on Wednesday near the eastern town of Goma, sources at the airport and interior ministry said.}
The United Nations force started using drones – a first for the world body – last month to help it monitor armed groups operating along Congo’s border zone with Rwanda and Uganda.
“One of these U.N. drones crashed not long after it took off,” a senior official Congo’s interior ministry told Reuters, asking not to be named. There were no reports of casualties.
A source at Goma’s airport confirmed the incident. A spokesman for the U.N. mission was not available for comment.
The Falco drones used by the U.N. force are manufactured by Selex ES, a unit of Italian defence group Finmeccanica . The firm was not immediately available for comment.
Agencies
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