From New Vision 

The UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo said Wednesday it is preparing a gradual withdrawal from the country despite the continued presence of dozens of armed groups.

Late last month, the UN Security Council renewed the mandate for one more year of its stabilisation mission in DR Congo (MONUSCO) and its intervention brigade charged with “neutralising” foreign and domestic armed groups.

The latest resolution (2147) contains “a new idea … to prepare for the departure of MONUSCO, to prepare for … a strategy of withdrawal,” mission chief Martin Kobler told a press conference in Kinshasa.

“We will not leave tomorrow. It’s a gradual process. But it’s clear that we should define the parameters, the criteria that must be achieved before MONUSCO leaves the country,” he said.

Since late 2013, most of MONUSCO’s 20,000 troops have been based in the east where armed groups have been particularly prevalent.

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