United Nations, UN, troops initiated a phased retreat from the restive eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday, officially transferring control of a base to Congolese authorities.
The peacekeeping mission, MONUSCO, which has maintained a presence in Congo for over 13 years, assumed its role in 2010 following a previous U.N. operation aimed at addressing insecurity in the eastern region of the Central African country.
Over time, the 13,500-member force has faced mounting criticism for its perceived inability to safeguard civilians from escalating militia violence, leading to fatal protests against its presence.
In December, the U.N. Security Council granted approval for the mission’s conclusion following President Felix Tshisekedi’s request in September to expedite the withdrawal.
At the Kamanyola base in South Kivu, a unit of Pakistani peacekeepers lowered the U.N. flag while Bintou Keita, the head of MONUSCO, handed over the keys to provincial authorities. The base, founded in 2005, is set to be overseen by national police, according to the U.N.
“We hope that the handover of Kamanyola, combined with MONUSCO’s ongoing construction of the Congolese National Police sub-station, will serve as a model and inspiration for the rest of MONUSCO’s disengagement process,” Keita said in the statement.
This first of three withdrawal phases will see about 2,000 troops leave 14 bases in South Kivu province by the end of April. The mission will later withdraw from the North Kivu and Ituri provinces in the next phases.
