Congo UN peacekeepers pausing pullout, no timeline for next phase
World
Congo UN peacekeepers pausing pullout, no timeline for next phase
KINSHASA (Reuters) - The U.N. peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo will pause its withdrawal, with no timeline set for the next phase following the initial one in June, the government and mission said.
In September last year, President Felix Tshisekedi asked the mission to fast-track the withdrawal of peacekeepers who were deployed to the Central African country to quell insecurity caused by armed groups fighting over territory and resources.
The first phase of the withdrawal, in South Kivu province, was completed on June 25, Congo's ambassador to the United Nations, Zenon Mukongo Ngay, said on Monday. It had been scheduled for completion by April.
rters at the United Nations in New York on Monday. "What's next, as we said, (is) we pause, we prepare, and we see what comes next based on the reality on the ground."
Congo's foreign minister Therese Wamba Wagner said the government wanted to avoid creating a security vacuum.
