The first group of United Nations troops could leave the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) by the end of June, as requested by the Government, the world body's top peacekeeping official said today following a visit to the country.

Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Alain Le Roy was in the DRC this week as part of a technical assessment mission, during which he also met with President Joseph Kabila and other officials to discuss the future of the UN mission, known as MONUC. [...]