The DR Congo government and the UN’s Monusco peacekeeping mission have signed withdrawal plan for the peacekeeping troops from the country, the UN body said in a statement without mentioning when the troops will depart.
In a statement, the peacekeeping mission said that it had “co-signed a note on the accelerated, gradual, orderly and responsible withdrawal” from the country, according to French news agency AFP.
The agreement reportedly contains a plan and timeline for the withdrawal, but offered few details beyond saying that it will be implemented in three phases.
The UN mission has 14,000-strong peacekeeping troops in the DRC – with presence dating back to 1999.
But Monusco has since faced sharp criticism from the Congolese public over alleged failure to contain the decades-old violence caused by militia groups that have continued to plague the east of the country.
In September 2023, DRC President Felix Tshisekedi asked for an accelerated withdrawal of a United Nations Peacekeeping Mission, just weeks after 43 civilians were killed during demonstrations against the UN mission.
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