UN will consider a proposal for a neutral force to help stop the violence that is causing significant suffering in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), said Deputy Secretary-General for peacekeeping operations Hervé Ladsous.
A UN statement released Thursday, said Mr. Ladsous announced the decision during a press conference Wednesday in Goma in eastern DRC.
The head of the UN is currently visiting the Great Lakes region as a prelude to a high-level meeting on the issue that will take place later this month.
‘The proposed concept should be developed in more detail, knowing that after all, it is the Security Council of the UN vote on the approval of such a concept and its implementation,’ he said.
He pointed out that the concept of deployment of a neutral international force along the border between Rwanda and the DRC has been proposed by the countries of the Great Lakes during a regional summit in July.
The UN official also said that the decision follows months of violence in the DRC because of the repetitive operations of armed groups, particularly in the provinces of North and South Kivu.
One of the key players in the conflict is a group of renegade soldiers known as the March 23 Movement (M23).
The group clashed with national army troops backed by peacekeepers Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO).
The fighting resulted in the displacement of nearly half a million people in recent months, including about 220,000 people in the province of North Kivu, 200,000 in the province of South Kivu, more than 51,000 people who have fled to neighboring Uganda and Rwanda.
The activities of the M23 led to the condemnation of the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council.
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