One South African Air Force (SAAF) crew member has been killed and another wounded after their Oryx transport helicopter was hit by gunfire in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Sunday 5 February.

The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) confirmed the incident in a statement, saying that the Oryx (821) came under fire in Goma. Spokesperson Siphiwe Dlamini said, “A crew member was fatally shot. Another suffered injuries, but continued flying the helicopter and landed safely at Goma Airport. The SANDF is in the process of informing family members of the soldiers involved in this unfortunate incident.”

Amadou Ba, a spokesman for the UN mission in the DRC (MONUSCO), said the incident happened mid-afternoon during a flight to Goma, and that the source of the gunfire has yet to be determined. The Oryx had taken off from the city of Beni.

A United Nations incident report stated that the commander was shot in the shoulder and the flight engineer was shot in the chest. Another Oryx (819) took both to hospital but the flight engineer passed away.

Defence Minister Thandi Modise, her deputy, Thabang Makwetla, the Acting Secretary for Defence, Thobekile Gamede, and the Chief of SANDF, General Rudzani Maphwanya, expressed their condolences to the family of the deceased and wish the wounded soldier a speedy recovery.

MONUSCO chief Bintou Keita said she “strongly condemns this cowardly attack on an aircraft bearing the UN emblem”, and added that “attacks against peacekeepers can constitute a war crime”. MONUSCO will spare no effort in agreement with the Congolese authorities so that the perpetrators of this heinous act are brought to justice, the peacekeeping entity stated.

Kobus Marais, Democratic Alliance Shadow Defence Minister, wished a speedy recovery for the commander, who is in a critical state in hospital. He also requested Defence Minister Thandi Modise to brief the Joint Standing Committee on Defence on the circumstances of the incident, and whether it happened while flying as a pair of Oryx and whether they were escorted by Rooivalk attack helicopters.

“We cannot allow our soldiers to be unnecessarily exposed to dangers on foreign soil if it should’ve been prevented. Maybe it’s time to consider whether the highest priority is still to have our air support capabilities in a foreign country while we have a critical shortage of air defence capabilities in South Africa and along our land and maritime borders,” Marais said.

This is not the first time that Oryx – and Rooivalk – helicopters have been shot at whilst deployed to the DRC. A Rooivalk was hit in the tail by small arms fire on one occasion, and at least two Oryx have been hit by small arms fire in the DRC over the last decade.

Darren Olivier, Director at African Defence Review, noted that SAAF planners have been warning about the risk of aircraft being attacked for a long time, especially as budget cuts and withdrawals have meant that MONUSCO transport helicopters usually no longer have Rooivalk or Mi-24 escorts providing cover.

“SA Air Force Oryxes with MONUSCO in the DRC have been hit by small arms fire on a number of occasions, it was only a matter of time before there were casualties. Yet not enough was done to prevent it and keep aircrews safe. It’s unacceptable that MONUSCO transport helicopters are having to operate in hostile areas without sufficient top cover from supporting assets. Especially with M23 so resurgent and well-equipped,” he stated.

In March last year, eight UN peacekeepers were killed when the Pakistan Army Puma helicopter they were travelling in crashed over a combat zone between the Congolese army and M23 rebels. It is believed the aircraft was shot down while on a reconnaissance mission near the border with Uganda.