DRC: The arrival of East African troops in South Kivu divides the population
Audio 01:19
Conflicts between soldiers and armed groups in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have displaced thousands.
Here, some of them flee near KIbumba, north of Goma, during exchanges of fire between the army and M23 rebels, May 24, 2022. © Moses Sawasawa, AP
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, civil society in South Kivu is torn between concerns and questions about the operations envisaged by the regional force of the community of East African States, in collaboration with the Congolese army.
To fight the armed groups active in the region, the Burundian army arrived Monday, August 15 in Luberizi in the territory of Uvira, which worries Bukavu.
Advertising
Read more
With our correspondent in Bukavu,
William Basimike
On the table of his office, the president of the New Dynamics of Civil Society Jean-Chrysostome Kijana has just issued a press release following the arrival of these troops: " These '
official '
entries
of foreign troops only come accentuate the problem instead of solving it, given that most of these armies announced and expected as part of this force
have already been on Congolese soil for several years
, either directly or indirectly in support of the various armed groups created, fed and maintained by these same countries.
".
"
We don't understand
"
In the territory of Uvira, where
the Burundian contingent was welcomed
, another civil society leader, André Byadunia, says he is in favor, but he too is asking questions: “
Until then, we don't understand.
In any case, we do not know if they came to how much, they will return when?
How long will the operations take and will they hunt down which categories
of armed groups
?
They are welcome, we are very ok with their coming, but we should be told clearly how many are there.
»
On his Twitter account, the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize winner Doctor Denis Mukwege considered that the deployment of the Burundian contingent “
demonstrates the failure of Congolese diplomacy
”, or “
one more humiliation for our nation
”.
He calls for an end to "
the outsourcing of security
", and proposes a "
reform of the army to make it professional and operational
".
The deployment of the contingent 🇧🇮 of #EAC demonstrates the failure of diplomacy 🇨🇩.
A humiliation of + for our Nation.
Let's put an end to the outsourcing of security by destabilizing states & work to reform our army to make it professional & operational.
— Denis Mukwege (@DenisMukwege) August 16, 2022
►
To read and listen also:
DRC: in North Kivu, the feeling of abandonment of the population
Newsletter
Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_EN
ground floor
Burundi
Defense