MONUSCO Chief calls for strategy in DR Congo

Kinshasa, 31 March 2022 (TDI): The Head of the UN Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO); was present at the meeting of the Security Council on Tuesday.

Bintou Keita briefed the representatives of the country on the deteriorating security situation in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Keita called for a comprehensive political strategy to aid MONUSCO, including measures to address the structural causes of the conflicts.

According to Keita, in the first three months of this year; there have been nearly 2,300 civilian deaths in the eastern provinces. Keita then added that this is proof of the inherent limits of only having security operations to resolve conflicts.

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Furthermore, Keita remarked that the security situation in the eastern provinces has deteriorated despite the joint military operations against armed groups by the national security forces.

The national armed forces are the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC); and count with the help of the Ugandan People’s Defence Forces (UPDF). Keita also mentioned that civilian losses and displacement of populations increased.

According to Keita, the reason was then the bloody reprisals by Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) militants. Moreover, the M23 rebel movement in North Kivu increased its activities exponentially in the last three months.

Keita remarked that the situation in North Kivu worsened because of the use of improvised explosive devices by the ADF. On 11 March, M23 leadership renewed its allegiance to Da’esh. MONUSCO also documented a 10 percent increase in human rights violations and attacks, since last December.

MONUSCO LAUNCHED AN INVESTIGATION OF THE HELICOPTER CRASH

On Tuesday, MONUSCO reported that they activated a search and rescue operation; after a Puma helicopter lost contact with MONUSCO and crashed in the North Kivu region.  UN Spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, mentioned that the helicopter had eight people on board.

Out of the eight passengers, six were part of the crew, all from the Pakistani military; one military staff from Russia and another one from Serbia. The passengers were part of a reconnaissance mission in the area of Tshanzu, south-east of Rutshuru.

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According to Dujarric, that area was the scene of recent clashes between Congolese forces and M23. Moreover, Dujarric reaffirmed that there was already an investigation underway and that they will offer more information as it advances.

Dujarric then added that the UN is maintaining the families and friends of the members of the crew in their thoughts. He also included in the good thoughts of the UN their colleagues of the UN Mission of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

KEITA: ALARM ON THE INCREASING VULNERABILITY OF THE CITIZENS

Keita stressed the alarm in the UNSC over the considerable erosion of the protection of sites for displaced persons. In that alarm, she included the frequent attacks against medical services and other civilian infrastructure.

Due to these situations, Keita announced that MONUSCO redoubled its efforts to better protect civilians in Ituri. Keita then added that within those efforts, MONUSCO is working jointly with FARDC/UPDF, deploying support units for FARDC to increase the deterrent effect against M23 in North Kivu.

She then added that the Mission is also pursuing mobile deployments to protect displaced persons in South Kivu. Keita emphasized that without a combined approach addressing both the causes and the symptoms, the efforts of both the United Nations and Congolese forces will remain insufficient.

Keita also mentioned that the Mission is closely monitoring the evolution of the security dynamics in the Tanganyika province ahead of its scheduled withdrawal in June.