The
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has demanded the removal of thousands of UN
peacekeepers, saying it can assume "full responsibility for its
security".
The call comes
as civil society and rights groups urge the UN to extend its mandate in the
country.
Foreign
Minister Raymond Tshibanda urged UN council members to respect the DRC's
"legitimate aspiration" to assume full control of its security, a
decade and a half into a UN peacekeeping mission there.
The UN mission
has been deployed in DRC since 1999 and comprises some 20,000 troops, nearly
all of them based in the country's east bordering Rwanda.
The UN
Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) warns that a gradual pullout of
troops will minimize the risk of renewed violence.
However,
nearly 180 civil society and rights groups have urged strengthened powers for
the UN mission in DR Congo to ensure peaceful elections that are due in
November and help end unrest in the country's volatile east.
The
appeal by 179 groups comes amid fears President Joseph Kabila could seek to
stay on beyond the end of his mandate by 2016.
Rights
groups allege that protests over Kabila's alleged attempt to seek a third term
has claimed up to 42 lives this year.
According
to the UN, tens of thousands of people died in February and March 2013, and
more than 100,000 fled their homes during clashes between a militia and army
forces in the east.
