Bangui – Vladimir Monteiro, spokesman for the UN Mission in Central African Republic, said on Sunday that DR Congo troops are withdrawing after they failed an internal assessment in Bangui.
“It is confirmed that the Congolese unit will withdraw from MINUSCA, the contingent will leave and not be replaced.’’
The historically turbulent former French colony suffered an intensification of violence in 2013 when mostly Muslim rebels known as Seleka seized power in a coup.
Since then, militias drawn from the Christian majority have launched reprisal attacks and thousands of people have been killed and around a million displaced despite efforts by UN and French peacekeepers to restore order.
He said a further announcement would be made next week, but declined to give an immediate comment whether the withdrawal could jeopardise security.[pro_ad_display_adzone id=”70560″]
In August, three Congolese peacekeepers in Central African Republic were accused of raping three female civilians, including one minor.
Congolese Justice Minister, Alexis Thambwe, said at the time the allegations would be investigated.
It was not immediately clear whether such allegations were the main factor behind the decision to withdraw Congolese troops.
A UN spokesperson in New York earlier said that the UN review of Congolese troops assessed the equipment, the vetting procedures and overall preparedness of the contingent.
This month, the UN said it was investigating new allegations of sexual abuse of minors by peacekeepers.
UN noted that there are 809 Congolese troops and 123 police deployed as part of the 11,000-strong UN peacekeeping mission in Central African Republic, known as MINUSCA.
Paris also planned to draw down its troops in the country, which originally numbered around 2,000, once a transition back to democracy is complete. (Reuters/NAN)