Advertisement The East African News East Africa UN's Congo peacekeeping mission pulls out of major eastern city Friday August 19 2022 Peacekeepers of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). PHOTO | SEBASTIEN KITSA MUSAYI | AFP Advertisement By REUTERS More by this Author The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo has pulled out of one of the largest cities in the country's east after deadly protests against its failure to protect civilians, Congolese and U.N. officials said Thursday.Butembo, a trading hub of almost a million people, has been one of the epicentres of violent demonstrations since last month that have killed dozens, including civilians, peacekeepers and Congolese police.Read: Death toll from anti-UN protests in DRC rises to 19The mission's hundreds of troops and civilian personnel in Butembo have left and discussions are planned over how to evacuate their equipment, General Constant Ndima, the military governor of North Kivu province, told reporters.Ndeye Khady Lo, the spokesperson for the mission, which is known by its French acronym MONUSCO, said the departure was temporary. "MONUSCO is not leaving Butembo. After consultations with local and national authorities, the mission has proceeded to a temporary redeployment of its personnel outside Butembo," she told Reuters, without saying when they might return.Also read: DRC kicks out UN peacekeepers spokesman, to speed up troops withdrawal Related DR Congo kicks out Monusco spokesman EDITORIAL: Monusco attacks call for EAC force deployment Advertisement The protests, which also hit the cities of Goma and Uvira, have laid bare public frustration with the U.N. peacekeepers, who have been deployed to Congo for more than two decades. MONUSCO has around 12,400 troops and costs more than $1 billion per year. Congolese demonstrators gesture during a protest against the UN peacekeeping mission MONUSCO in Goma on July 26, 2022. UN peacekeepers and Congolese forces have been unable to stamp out persistent violence by dozens of rebel groups in the eastern areas. PHOTO | MICHEL LUNANGA | AFPEven after a peace deal in 2003 drew a line under a five-year regional conflict in which millions died, U.N. peacekeepers and Congolese forces have been unable to stamp out persistent violence by dozens of rebel groups in the eastern areas bordering Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi.Local residents often accuse the peacekeepers of being too passive. The protests that broke out last month were called for by a faction of the ruling party's youth wing.Read: Protesters storm UN base in eastern DR Congo cityIn a plan drawn up last year, the United Nations laid out a set of minimum conditions that would be necessary for MONUSCO's withdrawal, which it aimed to achieve by the end of 2024.The conditions include a reduction in the militant threat, the re-establishment of state authority in conflict zones and progress toward disarming and demobilising former rebels. Advertisement In the headlines South Sudan auditor flags spending of IMF funds $114m earmarked for food, climate change mitigation, health, education, was disbursed but in opaque manner. TikTok ban: US says it reserves right to protect its interest Parent company, ByteDance, denies claims it shares user data with Beijing for surveillance. Botswana rejects UK migrants deal proposalZimbabwe president reshuffles cabinetUS says looming Tiktok ban won't change relations with China as Kenya weighs inSA extends army deployment in Mozambique, DRCKenya government urges regulations on TikTok, not banniing
Advertisement The East African News East Africa UN's Congo peacekeeping mission pulls out of major eastern city Friday August 19 2022 Peacekeepers of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). PHOTO | SEBASTIEN KITSA MUSAYI | AFP Advertisement By REUTERS More by this Author The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo has pulled out of one of the largest cities in the country's east after deadly protests against its failure to protect civilians, Congolese and U.N. officials said Thursday.Butembo, a trading hub of almost a million people, has been one of the epicentres of violent demonstrations since last month that have killed dozens, including civilians, peacekeepers and Congolese police.Read: Death toll from anti-UN protests in DRC rises to 19The mission's hundreds of troops and civilian personnel in Butembo have left and discussions are planned over how to evacuate their equipment, General Constant Ndima, the military governor of North Kivu province, told reporters.Ndeye Khady Lo, the spokesperson for the mission, which is known by its French acronym MONUSCO, said the departure was temporary. "MONUSCO is not leaving Butembo. After consultations with local and national authorities, the mission has proceeded to a temporary redeployment of its personnel outside Butembo," she told Reuters, without saying when they might return.Also read: DRC kicks out UN peacekeepers spokesman, to speed up troops withdrawal Related DR Congo kicks out Monusco spokesman EDITORIAL: Monusco attacks call for EAC force deployment Advertisement The protests, which also hit the cities of Goma and Uvira, have laid bare public frustration with the U.N. peacekeepers, who have been deployed to Congo for more than two decades. MONUSCO has around 12,400 troops and costs more than $1 billion per year. Congolese demonstrators gesture during a protest against the UN peacekeeping mission MONUSCO in Goma on July 26, 2022. UN peacekeepers and Congolese forces have been unable to stamp out persistent violence by dozens of rebel groups in the eastern areas. PHOTO | MICHEL LUNANGA | AFPEven after a peace deal in 2003 drew a line under a five-year regional conflict in which millions died, U.N. peacekeepers and Congolese forces have been unable to stamp out persistent violence by dozens of rebel groups in the eastern areas bordering Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi.Local residents often accuse the peacekeepers of being too passive. The protests that broke out last month were called for by a faction of the ruling party's youth wing.Read: Protesters storm UN base in eastern DR Congo cityIn a plan drawn up last year, the United Nations laid out a set of minimum conditions that would be necessary for MONUSCO's withdrawal, which it aimed to achieve by the end of 2024.The conditions include a reduction in the militant threat, the re-establishment of state authority in conflict zones and progress toward disarming and demobilising former rebels. Advertisement In the headlines South Sudan auditor flags spending of IMF funds $114m earmarked for food, climate change mitigation, health, education, was disbursed but in opaque manner. TikTok ban: US says it reserves right to protect its interest Parent company, ByteDance, denies claims it shares user data with Beijing for surveillance. Botswana rejects UK migrants deal proposalZimbabwe president reshuffles cabinetUS says looming Tiktok ban won't change relations with China as Kenya weighs inSA extends army deployment in Mozambique, DRCKenya government urges regulations on TikTok, not banniing
Advertisement By REUTERS More by this Author The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo has pulled out of one of the largest cities in the country's east after deadly protests against its failure to protect civilians, Congolese and U.N. officials said Thursday.Butembo, a trading hub of almost a million people, has been one of the epicentres of violent demonstrations since last month that have killed dozens, including civilians, peacekeepers and Congolese police.Read: Death toll from anti-UN protests in DRC rises to 19The mission's hundreds of troops and civilian personnel in Butembo have left and discussions are planned over how to evacuate their equipment, General Constant Ndima, the military governor of North Kivu province, told reporters.Ndeye Khady Lo, the spokesperson for the mission, which is known by its French acronym MONUSCO, said the departure was temporary. "MONUSCO is not leaving Butembo. After consultations with local and national authorities, the mission has proceeded to a temporary redeployment of its personnel outside Butembo," she told Reuters, without saying when they might return.Also read: DRC kicks out UN peacekeepers spokesman, to speed up troops withdrawal Related DR Congo kicks out Monusco spokesman EDITORIAL: Monusco attacks call for EAC force deployment Advertisement The protests, which also hit the cities of Goma and Uvira, have laid bare public frustration with the U.N. peacekeepers, who have been deployed to Congo for more than two decades. MONUSCO has around 12,400 troops and costs more than $1 billion per year. Congolese demonstrators gesture during a protest against the UN peacekeeping mission MONUSCO in Goma on July 26, 2022. UN peacekeepers and Congolese forces have been unable to stamp out persistent violence by dozens of rebel groups in the eastern areas. PHOTO | MICHEL LUNANGA | AFPEven after a peace deal in 2003 drew a line under a five-year regional conflict in which millions died, U.N. peacekeepers and Congolese forces have been unable to stamp out persistent violence by dozens of rebel groups in the eastern areas bordering Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi.Local residents often accuse the peacekeepers of being too passive. The protests that broke out last month were called for by a faction of the ruling party's youth wing.Read: Protesters storm UN base in eastern DR Congo cityIn a plan drawn up last year, the United Nations laid out a set of minimum conditions that would be necessary for MONUSCO's withdrawal, which it aimed to achieve by the end of 2024.The conditions include a reduction in the militant threat, the re-establishment of state authority in conflict zones and progress toward disarming and demobilising former rebels.
South Sudan auditor flags spending of IMF funds $114m earmarked for food, climate change mitigation, health, education, was disbursed but in opaque manner. TikTok ban: US says it reserves right to protect its interest Parent company, ByteDance, denies claims it shares user data with Beijing for surveillance. Botswana rejects UK migrants deal proposalZimbabwe president reshuffles cabinetUS says looming Tiktok ban won't change relations with China as Kenya weighs inSA extends army deployment in Mozambique, DRCKenya government urges regulations on TikTok, not banniing