DRC: UN may withdraw 2 000 troops
2010-03-23 09:11
Kinshasa - The UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Monuc) is planning the withdrawal of 2 000 troops at the end of June, the UN sources said on Monday.
Monuc, which is now nearly 20 000 strong, would initially withdraw troops from the west, centre, and southeast of the vast central African nation, the sources said.
Preparations are already in hand for the dismantling of the world's largest peacekeeping mission in case the UN Security Council orders a full withdrawal during 2011, as requested by the Kinshasa government.
In a second planned phase, 9 000 more soldiers would be withdrawn from the Orientale province in the northeast and the Nord-Kivu and Sud-Kivu provinces in the east. These regions are still highly unstable because of the presence of several armed groups, like the Rwandan Hutu rebels of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).
Currently, 95% of Monuc troops are based in these troubled provinces, and Monuc is providing the Congolese army (FADC) with logistical support for an offensive against the Rwandan rebels.
The final phase on the table is to withdraw the 9 000 remaining soldiers by the end of 2011, while envisaging the possibility of leaving a small force after that date.
"The mission is obliged to do the planning if ever it's the decision" of the UN Security Council to order a total withdrawal of troops between June and the end of 2011, said Kevin Kennedy, head of Monuc's public information office.
"We're planning for every contingency. (...) This does not mean that the decision has been taken, but we have to do it. To move all these troops with the logistics won't be done overnight."
The United Nations initially envisaged a progressive withdrawal over three years, but Kinshasa asked for a complete pull-out during 2011, with the first departure of a contingent before June 30, when the DR Congo will celebrate the 50th anniversary of its independence.
A UN Security Council delegation is due to visit Kinshasa in mid-April to hold final talks with the authorities before renewing the mandate of Monuc, which expires on May 31 and will be extended for a year.
- SAPA