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South African general to head UN force in DR Congo

Xinhua, December 30, 2015 Adjust font size:

South Africa's General Derrick Mgwebi was on Tuesday named the new commander of the UN Force for Stabilization of Congo (MONUSCO), the UN mission said in a statement.

Mgwebi replaces Carlos Alberto Dos Santos Cruz, a Brazilian general who left MONUSCO last month after serving for two years.

In the statement, the UN office highlighted the national and international military experience of Gen. Mgwebi who led the UN Mission in Burundi between 2004 and 2006, and is currently the Director of the Joint Operations Division of the South African defense forces.

MONUSCO, whose mission is mainly to protect civilians, has been present in DR Congo for the last 15 years and has deployed about 20,000 peacekeepers.

The mandate of these peacekeepers was considerably enhanced since 2013, with powers to neutralize different national and foreign armed groups operating in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) and they were equally authorized to resort to use of force offensively.

Despite reinforcement of the mandate of the UN force, DR Congo's eastern region continues to experience violence caused by armed groups, especially the Ugandan rebel group, Allied Democratic Forces, that has killed over 350 people since October last year. Endit