A young UN peacekeeper keeps watch out of a patrol vehicle as it drives through the Djugu area of Ituri, Democratic Republic of the Congo, on March 27, 2018. (AFP Photo)
UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- The UN peacekeeping chief said Friday that the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) will take "proactive action" to contain armed groups after the deaths of at least seven peacekeepers in the country.
"We have determined more have to be done after careful preparation and coordination with the AFRDC (Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)," UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix told the press in response to the loss of the peacekeepers' lives.
MONUSCO -- the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC -- will take proactive action to weaken the ability of the armed groups, particularly Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), to harm population as well as to disturb Ebola related efforts, he added.
The UN under chief confirmed the deaths of six Malawian and one Tanzanian peacekeepers and 15 AFRDC members, as well as the injuring of another 12 peacekeepers and 45 AFRDC members. They were killed Wednesday in Beni territory of North Kivu during joint operations against the ADF, which is active in both the DRC and Uganda.
Lacroix said the armed groups have been committing brutal crimes against the population for many years in North Kivu, recalling MONUSCO's loss of 17 Tanzanian peacekeepers as a result of an ADF attack in 2017.
Moreover, in the recent couple of months, North Kivu has seen increased armed group activities, which he said constitutes an obstacle to fight the Ebola epidemic plaguing the area.
Leila Zerrougui, the secretary-general's special representative for the DRC, told the press that local authorities have informed MONUSCO that the armed groups are preparing a mass attack on different places in Beni.
Though MONUSCO has its strongest concentration in North Kivu, Lacroix warned some of the armed groups, particularly the ADF, "has a level of strength, equipment and sophistication, which requires adequate response from our side."
