UN Mission to Exit DR Congo in December

MONUSCO’s mandate in the Democratic Republic of the Congo expires on 20 December 2026, and President Félix Tshisekedi’s government is seeking an extension while Joseph Kabila’s FRN alliance opposes renewal. Scrutiny of the mission has intensified after suspected ADF fighters killed 33 civilians in the Beni area and burned more than 60 homes and businesses. Mission chief James Swan reaffirmed civilian protection as a priority, while local civil society representatives said earlier security warnings had not prevented the killings. Tshisekedi sought Vladimir Putin’s support for an extension, and Foreign Minister Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner raised the issue with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot.