UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), commonly known as MONUSCO, has started withdrawal, said Christophe Lutundula, DRC deputy prime minister and foreign Minister.

MONUSCO'S disengagement will take place in three phases, starting with a complete withdrawal of the military and police components of MONUSCO from the eastern province of South Kivu by April 30, according to a statement issued on Saturday after the joint press conference held by Lutundula and Bintou Keita, UN envoy in the DRC and head of the UN peacekeeping mission.

The second and third phases of the mission's drawdown provide for withdrawal from North Kivu and Ituri, two provinces plagued by armed conflicts, with elaborated evaluation in between, reads the statement.