DRC President Félix Tshisekedi has announced that his country is preparing to receive the East African Community (EAC) regional force that is set to be deployed in the eastern region to aid in the fight against Jihadis and rebels. According to Tshisekedi the Kenyan contingent is expected to deploy and had been dispatching their logistical support systems during the last week of September.
The regional force is expected to be deployed in the Ituri, North, and South Kivu Provinces where the rebels are active and have caused the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent civilians. The Kenyan contingent will be the second after Burundian troops that deployed into South Kivu in August.
According to preliminary intelligence, the aforementioned Kenyan contingent is projected to be in charge of a hot zone in Bunagana, near the border with Uganda. The area has been under the M23 rebels since June 14 in the group’s renewed fighting.
The regional forces are expected to be made up of contingents from Uganda, Kenya, South Sudan, Burundi, and Tanzania. At this moment, while Rwanda is a member of the EAC, there have been tensions between her and DRC in which Kinshasa has accused Kigali of supporting M23 rebels, allegations that Rwanda denies.
While the deployment of a regional force has been lauded especially due to the growing threat from ISCAP, all eyes will be on the force as people wait with batted breath to see if they will redeem the military presence. The public sentiment on military intervention has been very negative as the civilians have been protesting the presence of the UN peacekeepers. Therefore, while they will be fighting rebels and terrorists they are expected to work towards winning the civilians who are very fundamental in aiding in identifying and flashing out rebels, terrorists as well as their supporters and sympathizers.
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