Ethiopian Military Mil Mi-8 helicopter crash-landed within a UN compound. Three occupants died and ten were injured, some serious.
The helicopter crashed in Abyei where Ethiopia had a successful peacekeeping mission, as claimed by Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia.
23 passengers were on board of UNO 379P Ethiopian Military Helicopter when it crashed in the premises of UNISFA. Three people on board are killed. Eight others are said to be in critical condition.
The MI-8 helicopter was carrying Ethiopian troops from Kadugli in Sudan to Abyei, which has been contested since South Sudan gained independence in 2011.
“We are deeply saddened by what happened this afternoon. We are extending our condolences to the families of those who died in the crash,” Major General Woldezgu is quoted as saying by UNISFA
“We are investigating the incident,” said UNISFA’s acting Head of Mission and Force Commander Major General Gebre Adhana Woldezgu.
Ethiopia is the sole troop-contributing country to UNISFA, with some 4,500 soldiers on the ground.
The UN Security Council has warned that the situation in Abyei and along the Sudan-South Sudan border “continues to constitute a serious threat to international peace,” and called on the two countries to show concrete progress on border demarcation and monitoring.
