Belgian drone crash kills woman in Congo capital

KINSHASA, Oct 3 (Reuters) A Belgian unmanned surveillance aircraft being used by an EU force crashed today in the Congolese capital, Kinshasa, killing one woman and injuring two other people, the spokesman for the European force said.

There was no immediate word on the cause of the crash.

''A drone crashed just before 2 this afternoon. It was coming in to land when we lost contact with it. Sadly one lady has been killed and two other people were injured. We don't know if it was a technical fault or if it was shot down like the last one,'' EUFOR's Lieutenant-Colonel Thierry Fusalba said.

Another drone being used by European Union soldiers helping ensure security during Congo's polls was brought down by gunfire in late July just before the huge former Belgian colony held its first free national elections in more than 40 years.

The city has been tense since soldiers loyal to President Joseph Kabila and former rebel chief and vice president Jean-Pierre Bemba, who face each other in a presidential run-off on October 29, fought several days of street battles in August.

Kabila, a Swahili-speaker from Congo's east, got more than twice as many votes as Bemba in the first round.

But Kabila is unpopular in Lingala-speaking Kinshasa, where his opponents have staged violent demonstrations and accused UN and EU peacekeepers of bias towards Kabila.

Reuters SP GC2045