Regional
MONUSCO changed mandate, abandoned Congolese
In
November 2023, at the request and insistence of the government of the
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the UN peacekeeping mission in the country,
MONUSCO, agreed on an accelerated withdraw.
The UN
mission was established in November 1999. Operating for more than two decades,
the mission has more than 20,000 troops, and an annual budget of more than USD
1billion. The mission is currently withdrawing, a process expected to be
complete by June 2024.
However,
the blue helmets’ withdraw comes with a lot of controversies. MONUSCO has been
the most expensive peacekeeping mission in the UN’s history, despite decades of
operations in eastern DRC, it has brought no positive change. Armed groups
multiplied from about five to over 260, and civilians have been killed in their
presence. The UN mission in DRC has constantly failed the Congolese.
Now,
UN peacekeepers are withdrawing from DRC, at the peak of violence and leaving
behind more chaos, that they helped create.
In
April 2024, MONUSCO ceased operations in South Kivu as part of its
disengagement plan. By June, the mission had completed the withdrawal and
repatriation of 2,227 troops from South Kivu.
According
to a source in the mission, MONUSCO reported to the UN Security Council that it
had completely ceased all operations. But that was a lie. MONUSCO continued
supporting the operations of the FARDC coalition. The Congolese army's
coalition includes SADC Forces (SAMIDRC), the genocidal forces from Rwanda
commonly known as FDLR, Wazalendo militias, European mercenaries, and Burundian
Forces (FDNB), all battling against M23 rebels in eastern DRC.
Since
May, the blue helmets openly deployed troops in Beni territory with an aim to
help FARDC and SAMIDRC. They also provided
drone surveillance which helped Kinshasa to conduct deadly drone and
fighter jet attacks, leading to deaths of innocent civilians.
The UN
Mission in DRC was, first and foremost, supposed to protect civilians, a
mandate the peacekeepers ignored as they took on another mission - fighting the
M23 rebels, and killing civilians.
MONUSCO
has taken the same mandate as SAMIDRC, which is solely fighting the M23 rebels
just like Kinshasa wanted, completely disregarding the other militias that are
sowing chaos in eastern DRC.