UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has decided to send Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Kongo) to assess the situation amid increasing violence in the country, United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a press briefing.
Santoz Cruz is a former head of the United Nations Stabilization Mission to the DR Congo, better known by the acronym MONUSCO.
"Following attacks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo [DR Congo] against civilians and Ebola responders, we have decided to send Lieutenant General Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz, of Brazil, to the country," Dujarric told reporters on Monday. "He will be traveling to the country tomorrow."
Dujarric said Santos Cruz will assess the ability of the MONUSCO to effectively protect civilians and neutralize armed groups in the North Kivu and Ituri Provinces.
Santos Cruz will submit an internal report to the head of the United Nations Department of Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, by early January.
In November, armed attacks in the eastern DR Congo have resulted in the deaths of four Ebola response workers.