The Kenyan Head of State, Uhuru Kenyatta, current Chairman of the East African Community (EAC) called on Wednesday 15 June for the deployment of a regional force in certain provinces in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in the grip of violence which has intensified in recent times.
“The East African Regional Force must be immediately deployed to Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu provinces, in order to stabilize the region and restore peace,” he said. .
Regional military leaders from the seven member countries of the bloc are expected to meet on June 19 to discuss the various aspects of this deployment.
The security situation in the east worries Kinshasa, which accuses Rwanda of supporting the M23 rebel movement. This group clashes with the Congolese army and succeeded in taking, at the beginning of this week, the town of Bunagana, a commercial exchange center located on the border with Uganda.
In the Congolese capital, a meeting of the Superior Defense Council was held on Wednesday under the chairmanship of President Félix Tshisekedi. Army and security officials made several recommendations to the government. They called, among other things, for the suspension of the agreements and conventions signed with Rwanda and for the reinforcement of the military equipment of the army to be able to face the enemies, according to the spokesman of the government, Patrick Muyaya.
Kinshasa has called on Kigali to withdraw its troops from Congolese territory, even though Rwanda has so far maintained that it has no troops in the DRC.
Furthermore, the Supreme Defense Council welcomed the peace and mediation efforts undertaken by President Joao Lorenco of the Republic of Angola within the framework of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (CIRGL) and President Uhuru Kenyatta under the EAC, Muyaya continued.
By OMA Newsletter N° 744 of 16/06/2022
Article published under the direction of Dr. Najib Kettani
The OMA, NGO with an Intercontinental vocation
For the development of cultural exchanges
Valuing human potential
The promotion and consolidation of Africa’s development, and
Inter-African integration
