East African Community (EAC) leaders on Tuesday, September 6, agreed to extend the mandate of the bloc’s regional force deployed to eastern DR Congo by three months until December 8.
The leaders, who met in Kenya’s capital Nairobi, noted "the operational milestones achieved by the EAC Regional Force towards restoration of security.”
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The regional force, which has troops from Kenya, Burundi, Uganda and South Sudan, was deployed to North Kivu in November 2022 at the height of a conflict between the DR Congo army and the M23 rebels.
The regional force’s mandate is to support peace efforts and especially observe the withdrawal of the M23 rebel group. By and large, though criticised by the DR Congo government for not battling the M23 rebels, the EAC Regional Force has helped in maintenance of law and order, opening up of main supply routes, facilitating access to humanitarian aid, the observance of a ceasefire between warring parties and the return to normalcy in the region.
Key gains since 2022
In December 2022, the regional force took control of Kibumba, a town in North Kivu, after the M23 pulled out, marking the first step in the rebels’ withdrawal called for by the Luanda agreement signed in the Angolan capital a month earlier.
Kibumba, had been under the control of the M23 since mid-November.
In January 2023, the M23 rebels withdrew from Rumangabo, a key military base which they had captured in May 2022, and gave way for the regional force.
In March, Uganda sent its troops to DR Congo. In early April, the Ugandan contingent deployed to Bunagana, a Congolese city located on the border with Uganda, which the M23 had captured.
By the end of April, the regional force was fully deployed, after South Sudan sent its troops.
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The EAC force has since taken control of other positions once held by the M23 rebels.
The regional force facilitated the resumption of movement of people and goods in parts of North Kivu, especially along the Bunagana-Goma axis, and is also involved humanitarian activities in its area of operation.
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It has maintained a buffer zone between the Congolese army and the rebels. The Kenyan contingent has troops in Kibumba, Kishishe and Rumangabo. South Sudan troops are also based in Rumangabo.
The Burundian contingent is based in Sake, Kilolirwe and Kitchanga. The Ugandan contingent is based in Bunagana, Kiwanja and Mabenga.
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Despite the gains made since its deployment, the regional force faced criticism from the DR Congo government, which wanted them to engage the rebels militarily, something regional leaders do not recommend.
Its first commander, Maj Gen Jeff Nyagah of the Kenya Defence Force, resigned in April, citing personal safety. He was replaced by another Kenyan officer, Maj Gen Alphaxard Kiugu, who assumed duties in May.
The Congolese government earlier agreed to the extension of the regional force’s mandate from June to September. The latest extension of the EACRF mandate begins from September 9 to December 8. DR Congo will hold presidential elections in December.