Nov. 2 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) are preparing for a deployment to eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as part of a regional operation to confront the Congolese rebel group March 23 Movement (M23).
The Kenyan Army troops are part of a special operation sent by the East African Community to combat insecurity, especially in the provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri. Theirs will be the second after the contingent sent by Burundi on August 15.
The new contingent — between 6,500 and 12,000 soldiers — will operate near the border with Uganda, in the small town of Bunagana, reports the Kenyan television network NTV. It is an area that has been controlled by the M23 rebels since November 2021, after a seven-year truce.
The regional force of the East African Community gained strength after an agreement reached by seven member states, although the current diplomatic crisis between the DRC and Rwanda, after the former accused the latter of supporting the M23 rebels, has caused the latter is the only one not to send troops.
More than five million people, including two million in North Kivu province alone, have been forced from their homes due to a significant increase in insecurity and violence in eastern DRC over the past two years.
The M23 has been accused since November 2021 of carrying out attacks against DRC Army positions in North Kivu, seven years after the parties reached a truce. United Nations experts have accused Uganda and Rwanda of supporting the rebels, although both countries have denied this.
