The DRC and the UN begin the disengagement of MONUSCO in South Kivu, with the Kamanyola base
The Congolese government and the UN began on Wednesday February 28 the first stage of the disengagement of the United Nations peace mission, MONUSCO, with the Kamanyola base, near the Burundian border, in South Kivu.
The day before, the two parties also began a mission in this region to take stock of the withdrawal of this mission, in place since 1999. The first phase of this withdrawal begins with the province of South Kivu.
Congolese police officers walk on the base of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in Congo (MONUSCO) in Kamanyola, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, February 28, 2024, at the start of the disengagement plan of the force.
© Glody Murhabazi / AFP
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With our correspondent in Kinshasa,
Patient Ligodi
According to Congolese Minister of Foreign Affairs Christophe Lutundula, Kinshasa aspires to make
the withdrawal of MONUSCO
a model of transition, thus giving his country greater respectability on the international scene and helping to improve its image.
The delegation on site since Tuesday is led by
Bintou Keita
, special representative of the UN Secretary-General in the DRC, and Mbuyi Katharina Wagner, senior advisor to the Head of State at the diplomatic college.
They are accompanied by heads of United Nations agencies, funds and programs in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
This disengagement plan for the UN mission, developed
in consultation with the Congolese authorities
and approved by the Security Council, provides for a first phase exclusive to South Kivu.
It aims for a complete withdrawal of these forces by the end of June.
This mission includes both a military component and a police component.
The troop ceiling authorized today by the Security Council is set at 13,500 soldiers.
With the planned withdrawal of UN troops from South Kivu by April 30, 2024, MONUSCO will have 11,500 peacekeepers at the start of the next budget year, July 1, 2024.
As for the UN police force, the number authorized by the Security Council will increase from 591 currently to 443 by July 1, 2024.
Ensuring the protection of internally displaced people, an arduous task
The plan provides that, from May 1, the protection of civilians in South Kivu will be entirely the responsibility of the DRC and its national security forces.
The effective closure of disengagement in the region is scheduled for June 30, 2024. This implies that the Congolese army and police must strengthen their presence in the region, particularly in areas currently housing internally displaced persons who are under protection peacekeepers.
This task will be difficult, because
the security crisis around the M23 rebel group
has fueled the
reactivation of armed groups
, notably in Kalehe, Kabare and Shabunda, in northern South Kivu, since last year.
The Raïa Mutomboki factions and the Nyatura groups, in particular, took advantage of the M23 crisis to remobilize and intensify their respective activities, according to UN experts.
MONUSCO will focus from May 1 on the protection of civilians in North Kivu and Ituri, in accordance with the agreed plan.
Read alsoBruno Lemarquis (UN): “This humanitarian response plan aims to provide assistance to 8.7 million people” in the DRC
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