Democratic Republic of Congo President Félix Tshisekedi has called for a speedier withdrawal of the UN force in his country to begin this year.
He told the UN General Assembly yesterday that he had instructed his government to begin talks with the UN to bring forward “the start of this progressive withdrawal from December 2023 to December 2024”.
He said the mission – known by the acronym Monusco – had failed to bring peace in the country despite being there for about 25 years, adding that it was “illusory and counterproductive to continue to cling” to the force to maintain peace.
Monusco – with more than 16,000 personnel – is the second largest UN mission globally and has become increasingly unpopular in recent years.
It has been criticized for failing in its mission to bring about stability in eastern DR Congo, recently sparking protests in the region.
