Contingents from the Republics of Uganda and South Sudan Contingents have just been deployed to their respective sectors in the Eastern parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The latest armed forces deployment into Congo is among the regional peacekeeping initiatives to the DRC.
It is also within the implementation of the Directives from the East African Community Heads of State during their Twentieth Extra-Ordinary Summit held in Bujumbura, Burundi February 2023.
On the other hand the Extra-Ordinary Meeting of the East African Community (EAC) Chiefs of Defense Forces and Staffs was convened on 23 March 2023 again in Bujumbura, Burundi.
The CDFs meeting was held to review and evaluate the security situation in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
During the deliberations on the ceasefire and withdrawal by the armed groups, the EAC Partner States’ Chiefs of Defense Forces confirmed that the EAC Monitoring and Verification Mechanism (EAC-MVM) has already been deployed.
A statement from the meeting reveals that the East African Community welcomes the latest and full deployment of the EAC Regional Force into the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The sending out of armed forces is to support the ceasefire and the restoration of peace and stability in the Eastern DRC.
The EAC further lauded the move of deploying the East African Community’s Monitoring and Verification Mechanism to monitor and verify the ceasefire and withdrawal by all Armed Groups from the conflicted zones.
From Arusha, Tanzania another report says the EAC Secretariat based there continues to support the restoration of peace and stability in Eastern DRC.
The EAC Secretary General Dr Peter Mathuki urged all parties to the conflict to continue implementing the ceasefire directives, observe the withdrawal timelines and join the political process as directed by the Extra-Ordinary Summit of the East African Community’s Heads of State.