Kinshasa: MONUC not welcomed anymore

By on March 12, 2010

After the Chadian government, it is the turn of the Congolese to demand the departure of UN peacekeepers stationed on their territory.
Kinshasa wants the withdrawal of peacekeepers to start next June and be completed a year later in 2011, while the UN plan envisages a withdrawal over several years, with the departure of a battalion of peacekeepers deployed in western Congo in June next.
The UN believes that outside of the three eastern provinces, the situation is sufficiently stable, and Congolese security forces can maintain security in its western regions. The withdrawal of all forces of MONUC (20 000 soldiers), mostly located in North and South Kivu and Orientale Province, could be considered in a period at least of three years If the situation continues to improve.

Assuming the best, the phased withdrawal will then take place by late 2013.The Secretary General of the UN probably explained that the Security Council insisted that the MONUC withdrawal plan will not take place, unless security in the east has become irreversible.
It is said that the international community will not take the risk to see the conflict restarting after the departure of the largest peacekeeping intervention ever realized for the last ten years. It would then be criticized for having been useless.

 

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