The European Sting is Your democratic, independent and top quality political newspaper specialized in European Union News. This article is published in association with United Nations. DRC gained independence in and since then the UN has played a crucial role in the country, notably through the deployment of three peacekeeping missions. The UN intervened for the first time in DRC just a few weeks after the country gained independence on 30 June , following 75 years of Belgian colonial domination.
During colonial rule the country was exploited for its natural resources and its workforce without any real preparation for political autonomy. As early as July , independence was threatened by the secession of two mineral-rich provinces β Katanga and South Kasai. The country then sank into a major political crisis, marked by the assassination of its Prime Minister, Patrice Lumumba, in The first large-scale peacekeeping mission, ONUC aimed to help the government in Leopoldville β the former name given to the capital, Kinshasa β to restore order and unity in the country and to ensure the withdrawal of Belgian troops.
The mission, which numbered 20, peacekeepers at its peak, played a key role in ending the Katanga secession in before withdrawing in In , Rwanda, supported in particular by Uganda and Burundi, intervened in eastern Zaire, officially to drive out Hutu militias responsible for the genocide against the Tutsis , who had taken refuge in the provinces of North and South Kivu.
Mobutu into exile and renamed the country the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In , Mr. Kabila turned against his former Rwandan and Ugandan allies, who were supporting rebellions in the east of the country. For his part, he benefitted from the support of Angola, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
Even after the official end of the war in , DRC remains a strategic issue for regional powers due to its exceptional natural resources and its key role in the stability of the Great Lakes region. Despite UN efforts, several armed groups continue to operate in the area, including the Allied Democratic Forces ADF and the March 23 Movement, or M23 armed group, which defends the interests of Congolese Tutsi and benefits from the support of Rwandan forces.
