The government of DR Congo has asked the UN mission in the country (MONUC) to start preparations to leave. In a press conference held yesterday by the minister for communications and government spokesman, Lambert Mende, it was noted that Kinshasa has asked MONUC peacekeepers to start demobilizing in June 2010 in order to complete the withdrawal by June 2011. Mende said that an official request has already been sent to the UN and that it is being examined by the concerned parties. Last week, French Alain Le Roy, UN undersecretary for Peacekeeping Missions, said that the UN is working on a withdrawal plan that would last a few years. Mende, nonetheless, thanked the peacekeepers for the support given to the country in trying to end the various conflicts in its territory and for support during the 2006 political elections. Having almost 20,000 active troops, MONUC has been considered to be the largest and costliest UN peacekeeping mission of them all. In the past, MONUC has attracted criticisms for failing to support the population during the most acute phases of the conflict. [AB]