The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which has helped in the fight against rebels for more than two decades, will completely withdraw from the country by December.
Bintou Keita, head of the mission known as MONUSCO says after 25 years of presence, MONUSCO will definitively leave the DRC no later than the end of 2024.
The announcement comes after the Congolese government called for the UN mission to leave the country, saying it had failed to protect civilians from armed groups.
Numerous armed groups, including the Allied Democratic Forces and M23, are active in restive eastern areas such as North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri provinces, where civilians face violence and displacement.