The leaders of East African countries decided on Tuesday, September 5 to extend the mandate of their force deployed in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in an attempt to restore peace there. Following a summit in Nairobi on Tuesday, the seven countries of the East African Community (EAC) announced in a statement that they had agreed to “extend the term of of this regional force until December 8.
This force of several thousand soldiers deployed in November 2022 in eastern DRC, a region plagued by violence from dozens of armed groups and rebellions for nearly thirty years. Its target has narrowed to focus on the areas of operations of the M23 rebels to the north and north-west of Goma, capital of North Kivu.
The future of this force had been questioned after criticism from DRC President Felix Tshisekedi, but the EAC finally decided in June to extend its mandate for three months. The Tutsi-led M23 has seized swaths of North Kivu territory since taking up arms again in late 2021 after years of dormancy.
The EAC force has taken over some areas previously occupied by the M23, but has so far failed to thwart the insurgency. The DRC has repeatedly accused neighboring EAC member Rwanda of supporting the rebels, which Kigali denies.