President William Ruto on Wednesday officiated a special ceremony for the Kenyan troops who joined the East African Community Regional Forces (EACRF) at the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo to restore peace.
The event implied the official flag-off for the Kenyan contingent (KENCON) including the KDF personnel who have been undergoing training in Isiolo.
The Head of state prayed for the team before releasing them to go assist the DRC in its efforts to repel M23 rebels who have taken up critical positions in the North Kivu province which is rich in minerals.
The troops are part of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).
They are mandated to protect civilians, support stabilization, and neutralize armed militias, as well as collaborate with other deployed militaries in the Eastern DRC.
The Commander-In-Chief said the East African countries have a collective responsibility to work together to end conflicts and violence that deny the region the space to prosper.
He exuded confidence in the KENCON pledging full support from the government.
According to the Aljazeera news reports, the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been the scene of one of the world’s longest-running conflicts for decades.
In the latest conflict which began in May, its army has been fighting the M23 rebel group, which is waging its most sustained offensive since a 2012-2013 insurrection when it seized vast swathes of territory.
The Central African state is the second-largest country on the continent and the 11th-largest in the world.
That space, especially its mineral-rich eastern region, has been the battleground for more than a hundred armed groups fighting for control of territory there or using it as a base to launch attacks into some of its immediate neighbors – Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Rwanda and Uganda.
Consequently, that has led to the death and displacement of many Congolese citizens.
BY NOELLA OUKO