STORY: UN peacekeeping chief urges M23 to stop hostilities in eastern DR Congo
SHOOTING TIME: Feb. 7, 2024
DATELINE: Feb. 9, 2024
LENGTH: 0:01:14
LOCATION: Kinshasa
CATEGORY: MILITARY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the press conference 
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (French): JEAN-PIERRE LACROIX, UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations
3. various of the press conference
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (French): JEAN-PIERRE LACROIX, UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations

STORYLINE:

UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix on Wednesday called on the rebellion of the March 23 Movement (M23) for an immediate cessation of hostilities in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
   
He made this remark during a press conference following his trip from Feb. 2 to 5 to the eastern part of the country, notably in Goma, Beni, and Bukavu, where the security situation remains tense due to hostilities between the Congolese military and armed groups, including the M23.
   
SOUNDBITE 1 (French): JEAN-PIERRE LACROIX, UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations
"For now, the situation on the ground (in North Kivu) is very worrying and alarming, which faces the risk of deflagration on the regional level, and the risk of strong intensification."

On the ground during his trip, Lacroix discussed the security challenges at length with his interlocutors, the progressive and responsible disengagement of MONUSCO (the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the DRC), and the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse.

During his meeting with General Dyakopu Monwabisi, the force commander of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in the DRC, Lacroix stressed the importance of joint coordination to support the DRC military in their fight against armed groups in the eastern DRC.
   
In January 2024, the DRC military announced the start of joint military operations with the military elements of SADC in the eastern part of the country, with an offensive mandate, mainly targeting the M23 which occupies several areas in the territory of Masisi and that of Rutshuru in the North Kivu province.
   
In Kinshasa, the capital of the DRC, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations had a meeting with the DRC President Felix Tshisekedi Tuesday, where Lacroix called for a strengthening of the presence and capacity of the Congolese defense and security forces in Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu, the three provinces that MONUSCO would leave in the framework of its disengagement plan from the country.
   
SOUNDBITE 2 (French): JEAN-PIERRE LACROIX, UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations
"We attach importance to redeployment of the DRC military to better execute the first phase of disengagement of MONUSCO. Our goal in general is that the disengagement process be done in an orderly and responsible way."

The MONUSCO withdrawal will take place in three phases, starting with a complete withdrawal of MONUSCO military and police components from the eastern province of South Kivu by April 30, 2024.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Kinshasa.
(XHTV)