DR Congo Asks UN Force to Start Leaving this Year

Democratic Republic of Congo President Félix Tshisekedi has called for a speedier withdrawal of the United Nations (UN) force in his country to begin this year.

He told the UN general assembly on Wednesday that he had instructed his government to begin talks with the UN, to bring forward “the start of this progressive withdrawal from December 2022 to December 2023”.

Mr. Tshisekedi said the mission – known by the acronym Monusco – had failed to bring peace in the country despite being there for about 25 years.

Monusco has almost 18,000 personnel in the country, including more than 12,000 soldiers, making it the second-largest UN mission globally.

But it has become increasingly unpopular in recent years and has faced several protests since last year.

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Protesters accuse them of failing to protect civilians against decades of attacks from the many rebels that operate in the mineral-rich east of the country.

Last year, an east African force was deployed to eastern DR Congo to aid the Congolese military quell fighting there – though it too has faced criticism.

Earlier in August 2023, the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres said peacekeepers in DR Congo will begin departing the country in an “accelerated withdrawal,” confirming the departure of one of the missions first deployed 25 years ago.

The Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo will leave the country, ending a contentious chapter but possibly leaving behind a hole that could exacerbate the violence there, Guterres said in a report presented to the UN Security Council.