https://en.sputniknews.africa/20240113/dr-congo-says-pullout-of-un-peacekeeper-started-1064606176.html
DR Congo Says Pullout of UN Peacekeeper Started
DR Congo Says Pullout of UN Peacekeeper Started
Sputnik Africa
The UN Security Council voted in December to accede to the demand of the Democratic Republic of the Congo for a gradual pullout by the United Nations Mission... 13.01.2024, Sputnik Africa
2024-01-13T17:33+0100
2024-01-13T17:33+0100
2024-01-13T17:33+0100
sub-saharan africa
democratic republic of the congo (drc)
united nations (un)
troops
peacekeeping
withdrawal
monusco
central africa
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The withdrawal of UN peacekeepers from the Democratic Republic of Congo "has commenced", the foreign minister announced on Saturday, with completion due by the end of the year.The DRC government had for months been calling for an accelerated withdrawal of the peacekeepers. Kinshasa considers the UN force to be ineffective in protecting civilians from the armed groups and militias that have plagued the eastern DRC for three decades.The accusation is similar to that made by other African countries, notably Mali, which also demanded the emergency departure of the UN mission there. Foreign Minister Christophe Lutundula and MONUSCO chief Bintou Keita told a press conference in the capital they would work for an "exemplary" withdrawal.The UN force today fields 13,500 soldiers and 2,000 police deployed across the DRC three eastern provinces of Ituri and South and North Kivu. The pullout is due to take place in three phases, with completion depending on regular assessments. Phase one is to see the departure of peacekeepers from South Kivu by the end of April. Lutundula said the plan was not at the stage of "seeing soldiers board planes". But "the withdrawal has commenced in the sense that we are at work", he said. Keita said the first of 14 UN bases in South Kivu would close by February 15 at the latest and be handed over to Congolese security forces. The first base to be handed over is at Kamanyola on the border with Burundi. A final date for the full withdrawal has not been set by the United Nations.The departure did not mean "the end of the war", the minister said, referring to Kinshasa's accusation that Rwanda gives military support to the M23 rebel group in North Kivu. The MONUSCO chief recalled that DRC had "nearly seven million displaced people, including 5.5 million in the east," and all in need of protection. He said the numbers were "huge", and called on all the armed groups to lay down their weapons to enable the displaced to return home.
https://en.sputniknews.africa/20231123/un-dr-congo-sign-peacekeeper-pullout-deal-says-monusco-1063739673.html
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democratic republic of the congo (drc), united nations (un), troops, peacekeeping, withdrawal, monusco, central africa
democratic republic of the congo (drc), united nations (un), troops, peacekeeping, withdrawal, monusco, central africa
DR Congo Says Pullout of UN Peacekeeper Started
Agence France Presse (AFP)
The UN Security Council voted in December to accede to the demand of the Democratic Republic of the Congo for a gradual pullout by the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) which had arrived in the country in 1999.
The withdrawal of
UN peacekeepers from the Democratic Republic of Congo "has commenced", the foreign minister announced on Saturday, with completion due by the end of the year.
The DRC government had for months been calling for an accelerated withdrawal of the peacekeepers. Kinshasa considers the UN force to be ineffective in protecting civilians from the armed groups and militias that have plagued the eastern DRC for three decades.
The accusation is similar to that made by other African countries, notably Mali, which
also demanded the emergency departure of the UN mission there. Foreign Minister Christophe Lutundula and MONUSCO chief Bintou Keita told a press conference in the capital they would work for an "exemplary" withdrawal.
The UN force today fields 13,500 soldiers and 2,000 police deployed across the DRC three eastern provinces of Ituri and South and North Kivu. The pullout is due to take place in three phases, with completion depending on regular assessments.
Phase one is to see the departure of peacekeepers from South Kivu by the end of April. Lutundula said the plan was not at the stage of "seeing soldiers board planes". But "the withdrawal has commenced in the sense that we
are at work", he said.
Keita said the first of 14 UN bases in South Kivu would close by February 15 at the latest and be handed over to Congolese security forces. The first base to be handed over is at Kamanyola on the border with Burundi. A final date for the full withdrawal has not been set by the United Nations.
"Normally on December 31 we will be at the end of the withdrawal process. We are fighting for everything to be done by the end of this year," Lutundula said.
The departure did not mean "the end of the war", the minister said, referring to Kinshasa's
accusation that Rwanda gives military support to the M23 rebel group in North Kivu.
The MONUSCO chief recalled that
DRC had "nearly seven million displaced people, including 5.5 million in the east," and all in need of protection. He said the numbers were "huge", and called on all the armed groups to lay down their weapons to enable the displaced to return home.
