NAIROBI, Nov 2 (Portal) – Kenya’s President William Ruto on Wednesday officially deployed troops to eastern DRC to join an East African regional force aiming to end decades of bloodshed.
The seven countries of the East African Community (EAC), which Congo joined earlier this year, agreed in April to set up a joint force to counter militias in eastern Congo. Kenyan troops will join a contingent from Burundi.
Despite billions of dollars spent on one of the United Nations’ largest peacekeeping forces, more than 120 armed groups continue to operate across much of eastern Congo, including the M23 rebels that Congo has repeatedly accused Rwanda of supporting. Kigali denies the claims.
Uganda has already sent troops to Congo in a separate operation to hunt down an armed militant affiliated with Islamic State, one of the warring groups in eastern Congo.
“We all have an interest in a stable Democratic Republic of the Congo and its security,” Ruto said at a farewell ceremony for the troops in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi.
[1/2] A member of the Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) reacts after the flag presentation by East Africa Community Regional Force (EACRF) troops ahead of their deployment to the peace and security mission in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo at Embakasi Garrison in Nairobi, Kenya, March 2, 2020 November 2022. Portal/Thomas Mukoya
Ruto said the United Nations and African Union had “tacitly” supported the Kenyan operation.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told Portal Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is not a mandated authority and decisions on whether or not to fund such missions are outside his remit.
A UN source told Portal there was some uncertainty about Kenya’s deployment because Nairobi wanted international funding, which requires an official mandate from the UN Security Council or the African Union.
“We have worked very hard to mobilize the international community in support of the East African forces,” said Kenyan Defense Minister Aden Duale at the event.
On Wednesday morning, several thousand people demonstrated in the eastern Congo city of Bukavu against the regional force because some of their “enemies” were members of the East African Community.
Reporting by Edwin Waita, Hereward Holland and Mukelwa Hlatshwayo; Additional reporting by Crispin Kyalangalilwa; Writing from Hereward Holland; Edited by James Macharia Chege, William Maclean and Sandra Maler
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