New York
Concerned over the spread of terrorism in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s eastern provinces, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador T S Tirumurti highlighted major challenges in front of DRC authorities of providing security to civilians and supporting the stabilization and strengthening of State institutions.
“The established links of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) to terror groups and the potential spread of terrorism to the Central African region is a cause for concern. The DRC authorities have been raising the issue of the presence of terrorists operating under the cover of Forces democratiques de liberation du Rwanda (FDLR) and ADF in Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu and Maniema. This needs to be taken seriously,” he said.
The Islamic State Central Africa Province has also claimed responsibility for the December 25 IED attack in Beni, which had the bearings of a typical terror attack.
“We strongly condemn these attacks and offer our condolences to families of the victims,” he added.
“India welcomed the enhanced regional efforts between the DRC, Uganda, and Rwanda to combat armed groups in the eastern DRC. We also underscore the critical need of regular tripartite coordination between MONUSCO, UPDF and FARDC during military operations, especially at the tactical level, ” he said.
India as the second-largest troop contributor to (MONUSCO) United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with over 2,000 personnel, India takes a keen interest in the operations of MONUSCO as well as developments in the DRC.
“We take note of the ongoing preparations towards the withdrawal of MONUSCO from Tanganyika by June 2022. A successful drawdown from Tanganyika as per the timeline would further boost MONUSCO’s own plans for rationalizing the resources and focusing on the three eastern provinces, ” he added as the objective of the UN Mission in the country (MONUSCO) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
