DRC: President Tshisekedi in Beni to take stock of the security state in the east
President Tshisekedi was visiting Goma on June 14, 2021, before going to Beni the next day.
AFP - GUERCHOM NDEBO
Text by: RFI Follow
7 mins
President Tshisekedi continues his visit to the east of the country.
After Goma, he arrived in Beni on Tuesday.
He comes to assess the measures related to the state of siege decreed since May 6 in two provinces in the east of the country, Ituri and North Kivu, of which Beni is the capital, plagued by group violence. armed.
Despite the establishment of the state of siege, the situation on the spot does not change.
But the displacement of the Head of State raises a lot of hope in the local population.
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With our special
correspondent in Beni,
Patient Ligodi
An impressive security device was deployed at Beni airport on the occasion of the arrival of Félix Tshisekedi.
Ground units supported in particular by helicopters ensured the security of the President of the Republic in this area marked for a long time by the activism of ADF combatants.
His long procession was greeted throughout the journey by the inhabitants of the city who hope that the presence of the Head of State will provide concrete answers to the recent violence in Beni.
"
Targeted assassinations, arbitrary arrests, burglaries, armed robberies, the city is shaken by this insecurity characterized by this increased crime
", explains Kizito Bin Hangue, president of the city's civil society.
We have always asked that the Head of State can meet us, see us [...] We think that with him, we will assess all the operations he has carried out, that he has launched to define our strategy which could allow the army to be up to its mission [...] We want the Head of State to be able to feel all these difficulties of the population [...] At the level of Beni, since the state of siege has been declared, we have not yet seen, we have not yet felt the impact, the results of this state of siege.
Kizito Bin Hangue
Members of the Muslim community in Beni are among those who expect the most from this visit.
The community
lost two of its leaders and preachers
last month, both shot dead in the city.
“
What the ADF is doing here is not Islam.
We ask the Head of State to continue his mission to put an end to the insecurity that is rife in the region,
”pleads Abdoulaziz Basayi, secretary of the Islamic Community of Congo, in Beni.
In the region, this visit by the Head of State is seen as an opportunity to give new impetus to the fight against the various forms of violence that have been raging for several years.
► Read also:
DRC: young people from Beni denounce the inaction of the army in the face of the attacks
Despite the state of siege, new violence has been recorded in recent weeks, particularly in Rwenzori territory. One of the attacks on civilians in this area dates back to three weeks ago. At least four people were killed in the town of Kylia. The situation is also unpredictable on the Beni-Kasindi road. The section between the Semluki bridge and the town of Bulongo remains dangerous.
The army is focusing its efforts at this level.
According to some FARDC officers, the intention of the ADF combatants is to cut off the town of Beni from all food and fuel supplies from Uganda via Kasindi.
This in order to raise the population against the new authorities.
The army is more deployed in the area where ambushes are sometimes set against vehicles transporting goods.
Liaison and combat patrols are organized there.
The other hot spot in the region remains the west of the city of Oïcha.
The army accuses Mai-Mai militiamen of providing support to ADF fighters.
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DRC
Felix Tshisekedi