MONUSCO chief meets Joseph Kabila and FRN rebel leaders in Goma
The coalition led by the former President says the UN mission has been a "total failure" and should not be renewed next month.
The head of the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO), James Swan, met on Tuesday with the leaders of the Front for the Refoundation of the Nation (FRN), the political and military coalition formed last month, at the Goma residence of former President Joseph Kabila.
The FRN brings together rebel groups previously united under the Congo River Alliance, including the M23, which controls large parts of the east of the country. It is led by Mr Kabila, who was sentenced to death in absentia for treason and war crimes by a Congolese court last year. The United States has imposed sanctions on him over his alleged role in financing and supporting rebel groups.
After the meeting, FRN vice-president Bertrand Bisimwa said the discussions had focused on the renewal of MONUSCO's mandate, which expires next month. "Twenty-eight years later, when you take stock of MONUSCO's activities, you find that it has been a total failure," he said, adding that the coalition would have preferred the mission to continue its planned withdrawal.
The M23 seized Goma, capital of North Kivu, and other key cities in a lightning offensive last year. Kinshasa, Washington and UN experts accuse Rwanda of backing the group, which Kigali denies. The M23 is one of about 100 armed groups active in the mineral-rich east.
Mr Kabila governed the country from 2001 to 2019, having taken office at 29 after the assassination of his father, Laurent-Désiré Kabila.