UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General Bintou Keita in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) took to X (formerly Twitter) to condemn a series of attacks against the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) on Saturday. Keita stated, “Weakening MONUSCO means strengthening the negative forces that it is fighting with its Congolese partners (FARDC, PNC)” and pointed towards the solution that such violence could constitute war crimes.
The attacks took place in the capital, Kinshasa, with the involvement of MONUSCO vehicles being set ablaze. This incident is part of the recent spate of violence in the country, an example being when a rocket was launched at a University in the eastern city, Goma. This city is currently under the threat of the 23 March Movement (M23), a rebel group that evolved from the soldiers who defected from the DRC’s army in 2012, and continue to escalate their offenses.
In January, following violent attacks in the Eastern region of the DRC, MONUSCO was forced to evacuate civilians. The M23 rebels were reported to be behind these attacks, and the group’s leader accused the army of utilizing drones and heavy artillery to destroy the town, leading to civilian fatalities.
The M23 rebel faction has been the recipient of severe global condemnations for their ruthless conduct. Amnesty International, in February 2023, reported them to be responsible for numerous incidents of killings and rapes that occurred in 2022. Also, in June 2023, a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report accused the group of committing war crimes including murder and rape.
The violence targeted at MONUSCO is not a recent development. In September 2023, the UN reported that 43 people were killed during anti-UN demonstrations. Also, in February 2023, an attack resulted in a UN peacekeeper part of MONUSCO being killed, and another severely injured when their helicopter was shot at in the eastern region of the country.
In a press release published by MONUSCO, the UN condemned the latest wave of disinformation targeting its mission in the DRC and encouraged its personnel in the country to contribute towards the consolidation of peace and working on improving the lives of the local population.
The country, which has been witnessing unrest for nearly three decades, saw the situation further deteriorate with the rise of the M23 rebel group. MONUSCO has been operating in the region since 2010 with the primary objective of protecting civilians and has faced a challenging situation with the rebel group capturing a significant number of territories in 2021.