UN extends Congo peacekeeping force with an eye to its exit

By EDITH M. LEDERER
Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The Security Council  has voted unanimously to extend the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo with an eye to its eventual exit. It also voted to lift a notification requirement on some government arms purchases which Congo’s foreign minister recently called unjustified. The separate resolutions were approved amid worsening security in Congo’s mineral-rich east, which has seen an upsurge in violence and civilian killings that has uprooted tens of thousands of people. The resolution extends the U.N. force until Dec. 20, 2023. It strongly condemns all domestic and foreign armed groups operating in the country and demands that they immediately stop all violence and exploitation of Congo’s resources.