NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 16- The East African Regional Force is set to be deployed in three troubled regions of the Eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, in a new move meant to restore peace.
The declaration by the Kenyan President who is also the East African Community chairperson Uhuru Kenyatta, comes amidst a continued onslaught by the M23 rebels- who have since seized a key border town in DR Congo.
On Tuesday, the rebels captured a border town of Bunagana, in a major setback for Congolese forces. More than 30,000 people have since fleed the town.
In a statement, President Kenyatta said the force will be deployed in Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu provinces to stabilize the region and enforce peace.
Regional commanders of the respective regional Defence Forces have until June 19 to finalize preparations ahead of the deployment of the regional force.
The regional force will work with local provincial authorities to support an orderly and permanent disarmament process…,” President Kenyatta said.
Further, the President has called for the declaration of Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu provinces as weapons-free zone, where any individual or group carrying weapons outside the official and legally deployed and mandated forces in the country will be disarmed.
The President called for “immediate cessation” of all hostilities in Eastern DRC and of all armed groups , both foreign and local, to law down arms “immediately and to commit to a political process.
The move comes as tension between DRC and Rwanda continues to rise. DRC has accused their neighbour Rwanda of supporting the M23 rebels.
Friction between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and its eastern neighbour has surged in the past few weeks over the rebel group.
A primarily Congolese Tutsi militia that is one of the scores of armed groups in eastern DRC, the M23 leapt to global prominence in 2012 when it captured Goma.
It was forced out shortly afterward in a joint offensive by UN troops and the Congolese army.
But the militia has recently made a comeback, clashing frequently with Congolese troops in violence that has inflamed tensions in Central Africa.
On Tuesday, hundreds of people protested in the capital Kinshasa, more than 1,500 kilometres to the west, where they urged the DRC to break off diplomatic relations with Rwanda.
The same day, the Congolese government “condemned” Rwanda for its alleged support of the M23 and promised to defend “every centimetre” of Congolese territory.
M23 rebels captured the key border post of Bunagana this week, following weeks of escalating clashes with the Congolese troops.
After years of relative calm, the group took up arms again in late November having accused the Kinshasa government of failing to respect a 2009 agreement that involved incorporating its fighters into the army.
Clashes then intensified in March, causing thousands of people to flee.
The DRC has repeatedly accused Rwanda of backing the rebels and in late May it banned flights from Rwanda’s national carrier in protest.
Rwanda denies any involvement, and both sides have accused each other of cross-border shelling.
Relations between Kinshasa and Kigali have been strained since the mass arrival in DRC of Rwandan Hutus accused of slaughtering Tutsis during the 1994 Rwanda genocide.
The African Union, the United Nations and others have appealed for calm.
In his Tuesday evening statement, the Kenyan President said the “the open hostilities” create a serious threat to the success of the regional leadership’s work “including the inter-Congolese (DRC) consultations of the Nairobi process.”
On April 21, President Kenyatta hosted regional leaders including DRC President Felix Tshisekedi for a second regional Heads of State conclave on DRC.
During the meeting, the regional leaders discussed the security situation in the Eastern part of DRC.
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