Congo rebels fire on UN helicopter

Insurgents in eastern Congo fired at a United Nations helicopter on Saturday after threatening to attack UN aircraft, further raising fears of a return to fighting in the volatile region. Negotiations between the M23 rebels and the Democratic Republic of Congo's government restarted after UN-backed Congolese troops dealt the rebels a rare defeat in August.
But talks have made little progress on ending the latest conflict in a region where fighting, rooted in ethnicity and struggles over resources, has cost millions of lives in the past two decades. The unarmed UN helicopter came under fire as it flew a reconnaissance mission over the M23 stronghold of Rumangabo, in mineral-rich northern Kivu province, the UN mission said.