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The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo will pause its withdrawal from the African country due to escalating conflict in North Kivu province.
The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in the country (MONUSCO) announced on July 9 that the mission would temporarily suspend the withdrawal of troops from the African country, without setting a specific timeline for the next phase.
The first phase of the withdrawal from South Kivu province ended on June 25, behind the planned April deadline, the Democratic Republic of Congo's ambassador to the United Nations, Zenon Mukongo Ngay, said.
However, Mr. Zenon stressed that the conditions for the next phase have not yet been met, due to the escalation of conflict in the North Kivu province, eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Democratic Republic of Congo Foreign Minister Therese Wamba Wagner stressed that the government wanted to avoid creating a security vacuum when UN forces left.
Based on the actual situation in North Kivu, the government will make an appropriate decision and resume the troop withdrawal if favorable conditions arise.
MONUSCO chief Bintou Keita also confirmed that there is currently no timeline for the withdrawal of troops from North Kivu or Ituri provinces. The mission is pausing the withdrawal to monitor the situation on the ground.
MONUSCO has deployed forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo to end unrest caused by armed groups fighting over territory and resources.
However, some have argued that the mission's forces have failed to protect civilians from attacks by armed groups.
Last September, President Felix Tshisekedi asked MONUSCO to speed up the withdrawal of its troops from the country.
TH (according to Vietnam+)