The Security Council on Friday authorized the withdrawal of up to 2,000 troops from the UN peacekeeping force in Congo (MONUC) over the next month, but made no pledge on further cuts despite pressure from Kinshasa.
Potential investors and human rights groups fear a too hasty withdrawal of the 20,500-member MONUC force would trigger more violence in a country struggling to recover from a 1998 to 2003 war and still battling rebels across its territory.
Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila wants the force out by the end of next year for what UN officials say are reasons of national pride.
A resolution passed unanimously by the 15-nation Security Council authorized “the withdrawal of up to 2,000 United Nations military personnel by 30 June 2010 from areas where the security situation permits.”
The resolution extended the mandate of MONUC — the largest UN peace force anywhere in the world — until the end of June, and said it would be renamed MONUSCO, a new French acronym that makes it a “stabilization” mission.
MONUSCO was authorized to stay in Congo for an additional year, and the council said future reductions in the force would depend on conditions on the ground and the achievement of goals by the Congo government and the UN force.
These would include completion of operations in the turbulent east against guerrilla groups including the Rwandan Hutu FDLR and the Ugandan Lord’s Resistance Army, as well as an improved ability by the government to protect its population.
Aid workers say Congolese army troops, as well as guerrilla groups, have committed atrocities, including murders, rapes and robberies, on civilians in eastern Congo, where competition to exploit valuable minerals combines with ethnic tensions.
The council was determined to avoid a security vacuum that could spawn more violence in the country, said the resolution, which passed at a brief council meeting.
Despite the lack of a solid commitment to remove MONUSCO next year, Congo’s Information Minister Lambert Mende said his country was happy with the resolution.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was