The Kenyan Contingent operating under the East African Community Regional Force (EACRF) Thursday, December 8 conducted joint assurance patrols with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) forces in the Mudja area, Eastern DRC.
During the patrol, Immediate humanitarian needs were identified including the need for food, water and medical assistance.
The leaders of the contingent encouraged the locals to return to normalcy and called for collective efforts by all state and non-state actors in addressing human security challenges in the region.
Kenya sent its troops for a peacekeeping mission in the region in October as part of the East African Community Regional Force.
President William Ruto ordered the deployment of 903 soldiers from the KDF to join a regional peacekeeping mission EACRF-DRC.
The Kenyan troops join others from Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania on the mission in Eastern DRC.
A mostly Congolese Tutsi group, the M23 (the March 23 Movement) leapt to prominence in 2012 when it briefly captured Goma before being driven out.
After lying dormant for years, the rebels took up arms again in late 2021, claiming the DRC had failed to honour a pledge to integrate them into the army, among other grievances.
The resurgence has ratcheted up diplomatic tensions, with the DRC accusing its smaller neighbour Rwanda of backing the group.
Rwanda denies providing any support for the M23 and accuses the Congolese army of colluding with the Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) — a notorious Hutu rebel movement involved in the 1994 genocide of Tutsis in Rwanda.
President Uhuru Kenyatta is leading peace talks in the region.
