Congo says may need UN peacekeepers to stay to deter Rwanda

Congo has said it will not require the withdrawal of UN peacekeepers from its North Kivu province due to the presence of Rwandan forces and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels.

Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner said that the situation in the east of the country was not conducive for a troop pullout.

A U.N. report said this week 3,000-4,000 Rwandan troops were fighting the Congolese army and overseeing rebel operations.

On Friday, the Congolese army accused the rebels of violating a humanitarian ceasefire announced by the US.

President Felix Tshisekedi last September demanded the withdrawal of peacekeepers, accusing them of refusing to confront the rebels. Dozens of people were killed in demonstrations targeting MONUSCO bases in eastern Congo.

A first phase saw peacekeepers complete their departure from South Kivu province in June.

The M23 rebels rekindled their insurgency in 2022, taking vast areas of North Kivu from government hands and displacing close to a million people.

The rebels say they are protecting ethnic Tutsi communities from genocide.