Congo peacekeeping deployment extended by the UN

The long-running U.N. peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was given a one-year extension by the UN Security Council on Friday, further postponing the agreed-upon exit from the war-torn eastern regions.

Although the Congolese government has previously urged the force, known as MONUSCO, to withdraw, Kinshasa requested that the operation be extended in a note sent to the Security Council by Congo’s representative to the UN in New York.

The mission said in a paper marked “vision for MONUSCO withdrawal and the renewal of its mandate” that Reuters was able to view, “My government is in favor of a robust posture of the MONUSCO Force.”

Nearly 11,000 peacekeepers will remain deployed until at least December 2025 thanks to the renewal, continuing to play a crucial role in security operations in the mineral-rich eastern Congo, where numerous rebel groups engage in territorial and resource-related conflicts.

In July, MONUSCO postponed its scheduled departure from North Kivu and Ituri after pulling out of South Kivu province. Congo at the time blamed Rwandan troops for supporting the M23 rebel uprising in Congo, claiming that security constraints prevented it. Rwanda denies support for M23.

The United Nations resolution “condemns support by any external party to M23 and any other armed group operating in the DRC, as well as direct unauthorized foreign military intervention in the territory of the DRC and demands the cessation of such support and the immediate withdrawal of any such party from the DRC.”

Robert Wood, the deputy U.S. ambassador to the U.N., expressed frustration ahead of the vote that “many council members are not willing to” singly criticize Rwanda.

“If we don’t call them out for the activities that they’re engaging in this is just going to give them carte blanche to continue to do what they’re doing,” he told reporters at the end of Thursday. “Their support for the M23 is … unacceptable and the council needs to take a firm stand on this.”

Currently, the U.N. mission has 1,750 civilians and 10,960 peacekeepers in Congo, primarily in the east. President Felix Tshisekedi demanded in 2023 that their departure be expedited, claiming they had failed in their peacekeeping efforts.

Some eastern citizens felt they had not done enough to protect civilians from militia violence, which made their presence unpopular and even led to fatal riots.

A plan for an orderly withdrawal that would “gradually refocus MONUSCO’s presence in the most volatile areas” needs still be discussed, according to the letter sent to the Security Council by Congo’s U.N. mission.