With hostilities once again flaring in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the United Nations is weighing another extension of its Monusco peacekeeping mission when its mandate expires this month. Though the UN had been charting a progressive withdrawal, renewed fighting and an international push for peace look set to prompt a new commission focused on supporting fragile mediation efforts.
Just two years ago, the UN was discussing a gradual drawdown of its peacekeeping force in the DRC – now in its 26th year and one of the largest and most expensive missions in the organisation’s history.
