The Kenyan Army has confirmed this Saturday the deployment of the first group of Kenyan military in the city of Goma, in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and near the epicenter of the fighting between the Congolese Army and the March 23 Movement rebel group that has unleashed in recent weeks an exodus of the population and a serious diplomatic crisis between the DRC and Rwanda.
The Kenyan Parliament approved on Wednesday the deployment of 900 soldiers in this mission to one of the most dangerous areas of the continent, ravaged for decades by the presence of numerous armed groups.
The M23 has been accused since November 2021 of carrying out attacks against DRC Army positions in North Kivu province, seven years after the parties reached a truce. UN experts have accused Uganda and Rwanda of supporting the rebels, although both countries have denied this.
The conflict has also led to a crisis between the DRC and Rwanda, which Kinshasa accuses of supporting the M23, although Kigali has rejected these claims and has accused its neighbor of allegedly supporting the rebel movement of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).
Despite diplomatic efforts, fighting still continues in several parts of North Kivu, particularly on the axis between Kahunga and Mabenga in Rutshuru territory.
The deployment in the North Kivu capital, where thousands of displaced people have arrived in recent weeks, comes a week after Kenyan President William Ruto presented a concrete plan for the deployment of this Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) peace initiative in the province.
«We all have an interest in a stable Democratic Republic of Congo and an interest in protecting its security,» he said in comments reported by ‘The Nation’.
The Kenyan president stressed that Kenya’s participation in the deployment, in the framework of a decision of the East African Community (EAC), is part of Nairobi’s «proud peacekeeping legacy» and called on the troops involved to carry out their tasks «in a professional manner».
