Submit this form
Home News Videos Music Photos Facebook Twitter Friends Newsletter Podcasts Mobile RSS
UN complains of Congo troop delay

BBC News - April 8, 2009
Goma - MONUC

The UN force chief in the Democratic Republic of Congo has complained there is still no sign of 3,000 peacekeepers approved by the UN five months ago.

Alan Doss told the BBC his force was overstretched and unable to respond effectively to outbreaks of violence.

He said he needed the extra troops to deploy against a Rwandan Hutu militia and the Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army.

Eastern DR Congo saw intense fighting between Congolese rebels and government forces late last year.

The 17,000-strong UN mission, known as Monuc, was placed under strain during the major offensive in North Kivu province, which forced 100,000 civilians to flee.

In November, the UN security Council authorised the deployment of an extra 3,000 troops to the region.

Mr Doss said there had been an improvement in the situation in the east of the country following a five-week joint military operation launched in January between the forces of Rwanda and DR Congo.

The campaign led to the arrest of the Congolese rebel CNDP's (National Congress for the Defence of the People) leader, and the surrender of many fighters.

They said they were fighting to protect the Tutsi community from attacks by Rwandan Hutu rebels based in DR Congo.

"The less good news is that operations are still ongoing and will have to continue for some time against the ex-genocidal forces, the so-called FDLR, the ex-Interahamwe. That's a big job," he said.

The FDLR's (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda) presence in DR Congo lies behind years of unrest in the region and some of its leaders are linked to the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

'Doing terrible things'

Mr Doss said he wanted to send the extra troops to restive Ituri province and to South Kivu, where FDLR fighters have been operating.

The Welshman said he also needed to send additional forces to Haut-Uele province, where Ugandan rebels were "doing terrible things".

The LRA has butchered hundreds of civilians in the north-east of DR Congo since going on the rampage in the region last Christmas.

"We are stretched and the additional 3,000 will also enable us to create a force reserve so that when a situation erupts as it did last September and October, we had no reserves," Mr Doss said.

"It is true that we have a mandate to protect but within the limits that we know, we can't be everywhere all of the time and this is a serious concern for us," he added.

UN officials have often said there peacekeepers are thinly stretched over a country the size of Western Europe.


Related articles


  1. 'Deadly environment' plus 'political and social' obstacles hinder Ebola fight, Security Council hears (July 24, 2019)
  2. Ebola outbreak declared an international Public Health Emergency (July 17, 2019)
  3. At least 30 dead after massacres in Ituri (March 2, 2018)
  4. Peacekeepers, Congo Army to Resume Joint Fight Against Rwandan Rebels (January 28, 2016)
  5. Political tensions 'running high' in DR Congo ahead of 2016 elections (October 7, 2015)
  6. DRC Army Putting Pressure on FDLR (April 1, 2015)
  7. ICC Confirms 14-Year Sentence Against Thomas Lubanga (December 1, 2014)
  8. Southern African Leaders to Meet in Zimbabwe (August 15, 2014)
  9. ICC sentences Germain Katanga to 12 years (May 23, 2014)
  10. Kerry Calls on Kabila to Honor Constitution (May 4, 2014)
  11. Security Council extends UN mission, intervention force in DR Congo for one year (March 28, 2014)
  12. U.S. sending more personnel to Uganda to hunt LRA leader Joseph Kony (March 24, 2014)
  13. ICC finds Germain Katanga guilty of war crimes and crime against humanity (March 7, 2014)
  14. Bosco Ntaganda Attacked Civilians on Ethnic Grounds, ICC Prosecutor Says (February 10, 2014)
  15. No 'Peace Deal' With Defeated M23 Rebels, DR Congo Says (November 11, 2013)
  16. Congo Will Not Sign a 'Peace Deal' With Defeated M23 Rebels, Government Says (November 6, 2013)
  17. Congo Army Takes Control of Mbuzi Hill From M23 Rebels (November 4, 2013)
  18. Kabila Congratulates Congo Army for Defeating M23 Rebels (October 30, 2013)
  19. Advancing Congo Troops Take Control of Rumangabo From M23 Rebels (October 28, 2013)
  20. Congo Army Liberates Rutshuru, Kiwanja and Kibumba From M23 Rebels (October 27, 2013)
  21. Congo Army Dislodges M23 Rebels From Strategic Town of Kibumba (October 26, 2013)
  22. Congo Army Takes Control of Kibumba After Fighting With M23 Rebels Resumes (October 25, 2013)
  23. U.S. Sanctions Rwanda Over Use of Child Soldiers by M23 Rebels (October 4, 2013)
  24. Rwandan Support for M23 Rebels Frustrates Attempts to End Fighting in Eastern Congo (September 26, 2013)
  25. Ban Ki-moon Confirms M23 Rebels Shelled Rwanda (August 31, 2013)
  26. DR Congo Will Defend Itself Against an Attack by Rwanda, Government Says (August 31, 2013)
  27. M23 Rebels Fired Shells Into Rwanda, Not Congo Army, UN Says (August 30, 2013)
  28. Mortar Shells From Rwanda Kill Civilians in Eastern Congo (August 23, 2013)
  29. UN Peacekeepers Start Enforcing Security Zone in Eastern Congo (August 1, 2013)
  30. Rwanda 'recruiting for M23 rebels' (July 31, 2013)


Live TV Congo Radio en ligne Radio
Available on App Store
Get it on Google Play



Contact Us | About Us | Édition en Français | French Edition

© CongoPlanet.com. All rights reserved.