The regional force of East African States (EAC), deployed in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as part of the fight against armed groups, is still probably struggling to meet Kinshasa’s expectations. .
Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi raised on Tuesday the possibility of not renewing his mandate which ends next June.
“As the mandate ends in June, if on that date we find that the mandate has not been fulfilled, we will decide to accompany this contingent which has come to the rescue of the DRC with honor and thank them for having tried to ‘contribute to the solution of peace in the DRC’, he declared on the occasion of his official visit to Botswana.
He thus spoke during a joint press conference with his counterpart Mokgweetsi Masisi. The DRC expects regional troops to fight the M23 rebellion which clashes with the Congolese army and occupies certain localities in its eastern part, but the EAC maintains that its force has no offensive mission.
Tshisekedi also accused the regional troops of “cohabitation” with the M23 rebels. This rebellion is supported, according to Kinshasa, by Rwanda, but Kigali still rejects these allegations.
The DRC probably now wants to rely on the Community of Southern African States (SADC), which promised to deploy troops in eastern Congo, during its summit held on May 8 in Windhoek, Namibia.
“The summit approved the deployment of the SADC force (…) as if to support the DRC in order to restore peace and security in the East. So, it is clear that the SADC is militarily committed on the ground and will immediately deploy a force”, indicated the Congolese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Christophe Lutundula Apala pene Apala, whose country holds the current presidency of SADC. .
“SADC recommended that the DRC meet all the conditions required for a coordination summit of all the intervening parties and all the international actors on the ground in order to achieve effective and harmonized action,” he continued.
By OMA Newsletter N° 1166 of 10/05/2023
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
