UN gunships have targeted a base of the Ugandan Muslim rebel group ADF-Nalu in the eastern DR Congo for the first time.
The Congolese army had in recent weeks taken the lead in the drive to root out ADF-Nalu, one of the oldest but lesser known armed organisations in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
A statement from MONUSCO, the UN mission in the country, said two attack helicopters struck an ADF base northeast of Beni on Saturday.
Beni is a remote town in North Kivu, a restive resource-rich province that borders Rwanda and Uganda.
"This operation, conducted with great precision, helps achieve a clear goal: bringing an end to ADF's recent attacks against the civilian population," said MONUSCO chief Martin Kobler, quoted in the statement.
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The FARDC regular army launched its offensive against ADF-Nalu on January 16 and announced in mid-February that it had inflicted severe losses on the rebels.
Backed by a newly-formed UN intervention brigade with an unprecedented offensive mandate, the Congolese army notched up a rare military victory against the M-23 Tutsi rebel group.
The ADF-Nalu was next on the list.
MONUSCO has vowed to help Kinshasa rid the region of the myriad rebel groups running amok in one of the continent's most impenetrable regions.
ADF-Nalu stands for Allied Democratic Forces-National Army for the Liberation of Uganda. It is one of the oldest but lesser known rebellions based in North-Kivu and is considered the only Islamist organisation in the region.
