More than 250 soldiers of the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MINUSCO), are preparing to leave the country.
Faced with the Russian invasion, Ukraine needs all its forces to face it. Kiev has taken the decision to repatriate its soldiers, sent on peacekeeping missions, notably in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In the DRC, the contingent of 250 Ukrainian peacekeepers deployed in Goma and North Kivu will return to Kiev, the capital of Ukraine under bombardment since the beginning of the Russian offensive.
This departure has not provoked a wave of reaction among the Congolese, who point to the “inertia” and “lack of responsiveness” of UN soldiers in the face of the massacres of civilians in the country over the past several years.
Established in 2004, the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo has 14,000 military personnel, 660 military observers and staff officers, 591 police officers and 1,050 members of formed police units.
It has two “strategic priorities” in its mandate: the protection of civilians and support for stabilization, the strengthening of state institutions and key governance and security reforms.
CD/fss/abj/APA