SW News: The United Nations has said that it is willing to closely cooperate with the Democratic Republic of Congo and expedite the withdrawal of troops from the African nation. At present, there are more than 14,000 UN soldiers and policemen in the east of the country.

On Friday, the head of the peacekeeping mission of the UN in DRC Bintou Keita told the Security Council that the confidence of people in the ‘blue helmets’ has eroded and it has affected the mission. This comes as the M23 rebels have once again reared their ugly head.

Keita said that the resurgence of militants has provided a fertile ground for stigmatizing the peacekeeping troops and spreading misinformation.

The lack of trust has triggered protests of a violent nature and it has claimed the lives of dozens of civilians and four soldiers. Civilians allege that the UN troops are not doing enough to tackle the menace of insurgents who roam free in the east. They also blamed the blue helmets for brutally retaliating against the protests.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the M23 rebels, who are of Tutsi origin, control several places, including Bunagana. There are allegations that the insurgents have the support of the government in neighboring Rwanda. According to the collective Peace for Congo, more than 150,000 people have left their homes because of militancy and some of them have taken shelter in Uganda.

There are also reports that M23 is recruiting new cadres from refugee camps in Uganda and Kenya. The outfit was defeated in 2013 by Congo with the help of the UN, but last year, they violated the truce saying Congolese authorities are not respecting the peace agreement.