South Sudanese Troops Join Regional Force In Eastern DR Congo To Fight Rebels

South Sudanese troops on Sunday reached the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to join a regional military force fighting the M23 rebellion in the eastern part of the country, reported News 24.

The first contingent of at least 45 soldiers touched down in the city of Goma, with further contingents expected to arrive at later dates.

The contingent of South Sudanese soldiers has been flagged off to the DRC as part of the East African Community (EAC) military force, which was announced in June last year to stabilize the African country.

The EAC force consists of Burundian, Kenyan, South Sudanese, and Ugandan troops.

The M23 rebel group came to international prominence in 2012 when it captured Goma, before being driven out and going to ground. The Tutsi-led group has captured swathes of territory in North Kivu province since re-emerging from dormancy in late 2021 arguing that the government had ignored a promise to integrate its fighters into the army. It has also advanced within several dozen kilometers of the capital city of Goma, triggering a humanitarian crisis as hundreds of thousands of people fled its advance.

Several regional initiatives intended to stop the conflict have failed.

An Angola-led ceasefire deal was planned to take effect last month, but it collapsed almost immediately.

According to a timetable adopted by the EAC in mid-February, March 30 was supposed to mark the end of the withdrawal of all armed groups. But, the deadline was not respected.

Colonel Jok Akech, an EAC force officer, welcomed the South Sudanese soldiers in Goma.

“Now you are in a different operational environment. You have to be ready,” Akech said.

The DRC accuses Rwanda of backing the M23, a claim also supported by the United States, several other Western countries, and independent UN experts, but Kigali denies it.