President Tshisekedi asks UN forces to leave from DRC
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) President Felix Tshisekedi said he has asked the government to accelerate the withdrawal of the United Nations peacekeeping mission to ensure it begins at the end of the year.
The mission called MONUSCO, took over from an earlier UN operation in 2010, to help quell insecurity in the DRC’s east, where armed groups are fighting over territory and resources.
But it does not seem succesful by critics who say it is not able to protect civilians from violence and caused protests.
“It is regrettable that peacekeeping missions deployed for 25 years, but have not been able to deal with insurgencies and armed conflicts.” said Tshisekedi, who is seeking re-election in polls planned for December.
“This is why I instructed the government of the republic to begin negotiations with the UN authorities for an accelerated withdrawal of MONUSCO, by bringing forward the start of this progressive withdrawal from December 2024 to December 2023,” he stated.
