GOMA, DR Congo — Kenyan soldiers landed in the city of Goma in the eastern
Democratic Republic of Congo on Saturday, as part of a regional military operation
targeting rebels in the conflict-torn region.
اضافة اعلان
Their arrival comes
as the M23 militia has surged across the DRC’s North Kivu province, capturing
swathes of territory and inflaming tensions in central Africa.
Leaders of the
seven-nation East African Community (EAC) bloc, in which Kenya is the regional
heavyweight, agreed in April to establish a joint force to help restore
security in the mineral-rich DRC.
This week, Kenya’s
parliament approved the deployment of just over 900 troops to the DRC as part
of the joint EAC military force.
Two planes carrying
about 100 Kenyan troops touched down in Goma airport on Saturday, according to
AFP reporters present, where they were greeted by local dignitaries.
Kenyan
Lieutenant-Colonel Dennis Obiero told reporters that their mission is “to
conduct offensive operations” alongside Congolese forces and to assist in
disarming militias.
“Insecurity is
something which breaks up the social fabric,” he added, explaining that the
Kenyan contingent would also work alongside humanitarian agencies in a bid to
bring stability to the eastern DRC.
Resurgent rebels
Over 120 armed groups are active across eastern Congo, many of which are a
legacy of regional wars that flared at the turn of the century.
Heavy fighting
between the army and the M23 was ongoing in Rugari in North Kivu on Friday, and
power was disrupted in Goma, an important commercial hub of about one million
people.
A mostly Congolese
Tutsi group, the M23 first leaped to prominence in 2012, briefly capturing Goma
before being driven out.
But after lying
dormant for years, the rebels took up arms again in late 2021, claiming the DRC
had failed to honor a pledge to integrate them into the army, among other
grievances.
In June, the M23
captured the strategic town of
Bunagana on the Ugandan border.
In recent weeks the
rebels have won a string of victories against the Congolese army in North Kivu,
dramatically increasing the territory under their control.
The United Nations’
humanitarian agency OCHA estimates that recent fighting in North Kivu has
displaced 188,000 people.
The M23’s
resurgence has cratered relations between the DRC and its smaller neighbor
Rwanda, which Kinshasa accuses of backing the M23.
Diplomatic efforts
Kinshasa expelled Rwanda’s ambassador at the end of last month, for
example, while also recalling its envoy from Kigali.
In parallel to the
EAC’s military operation, diplomatic efforts are underway to reduce tensions in
eastern DRC.
Angolan President
Joao Lourenco visited Rwanda on Friday, and he met Congolese President Felix
Tshisekedi in the DRC on Saturday.
“We are all
concerned about the situation in the east of the DRC today,” Angolan Foreign
Minister Tete Antonio told reporters in Kinshasa after the presidents met.
Kenya’s former
president Uhuru Kenyatta is also expected in the DRC capital for talks on
Sunday.
Leaders of the
seven-nation East African Community decided to create a regional military force
to restore peace in the DRC in June.
The force will be
under Kenyan command. But its total size and scope remain unclear.
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