MONTEVIDEO, July 6 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) — Uruguay will maintain its contingent of blue helmets on the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Defense Minister Sandra Lazo stated.
This was expressed after welcoming, along with President Yamandú Orsi, 200 of these troops and bidding farewell to the replacement.
The returning soldiers are part of the Uruguay IV Battalion, which experienced difficult times last year.
They have already completed the promised year and have added another six months of stay due to the armed conflict in the region, where the M23 rebel group occupies a large part of the eastern Congo and the city of Goma.
In January, Uruguayan troops lost a soldier, the victim of an armed attack that left several wounded, one of them seriously. Another soldier died of a heart attack.
The situation forced the Uruguayan government to undertake intensive efforts at the highest levels to secure their return, Lazo noted.
This late replacement “does not change what Uruguay has historically contributed to the missions,” and “limiting Uruguayan participation in international missions is not under debate or question,” Lazo told La Diaria.
“These are not unilateral decisions when there is some kind of signed contract supporting the mission,” so Uruguay is “betting” on the troop relief effort in the Congo “until the United Nations decides the end of the mission or the withdrawal,” she emphasized.
For the minister, what is truly important is “being clear about what we are doing”: it is about protecting civilian populations, although she noted that “each conflict zone is different.” — NNN-PRENSA LATINA
