Voice of America
23 Nov 2022, 04:35 GMT+10
Kampala - Uganda will deploy around 1,000 soldiers in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo by the end of November under a regional force against a rebel offensive, a Ugandan military spokesman said Tuesday.
The volatile region has witnessed fierce fighting in recent months between Congolese troops and the M23 rebel group, prompting the East African Community (EAC) bloc to deploy a joint regional force to quell the violence.
Kenyan soldiers arrived in the country on November 12, and Uganda's military and defense spokesman, Felix Kulayigye, told AFP that a Ugandan contingent would follow shortly.
'We are doing final mentoring of our troops before inserting them into Eastern DRC before [the] end of this month to join our colleagues from Kenya who are already on the ground,' Kulayigye said.
'We are sending about 1,000 [soldiers] on the mission,' he said, without giving the exact date of departure.
The fighting has reignited regional tensions, with the Congo accusing its smaller neighbor Rwanda of backing the M23, something that U.N. experts and U.S. officials have also said in recent months.
Kigali denies supporting the M23 and accuses Kinshasa of colluding with the FDLR - a former Rwandan Hutu rebel group established in Congo after the 1994 genocide of mainly Tutsis in Rwanda.
The M23, a largely Congolese Tutsi militia, has seized swaths of territory across North Kivu province, edging toward the region's main city of Goma.
Two Ugandan military sources familiar with the matter told AFP on condition of anonymity that Kampala had already sent intelligence, medical and logistical teams into Goma to prepare the ground for the planned deployment.
The M23 first leapt to prominence 10 years ago when it captured Goma in 2012, before being driven out and going to ground.
But it reemerged late last year, claiming Congo had failed to honor a pledge to integrate its fighters into the army, among other grievances.
The EAC regional force is expected to include soldiers from Kenya, Burundi, Uganda and South Sudan. But its intended total size remains unclear.
The M23 is one of around 120 armed groups active in eastern Congo, many of them a legacy of two regional wars that flared late last century.
Get a daily dose of Zimbabwe Star news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Zimbabwe Star.
More InformationWASHINGTON, D.C.: President Donald Trump will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Monday. President...
GENEVA, Switzerland: A new United Nations report alleges that dozens of global corporations are profiting from and helping sustain...
LONDON, UK - Lawmakers in the United Kingdom have voted overwhelmingly to proscribe the direct-action group Palestine Action as a terrorist...
DHARAMSHALA, India: The Dalai Lama is set to address a significant three-day conference of Buddhist leaders this week, coinciding with...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: In a significant ruling last week, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a Texas law requiring age verification for users...
ISTANBUL/PARIS/BRUSSELS: As searing temperatures blanket much of Europe, wildfires are erupting and evacuation orders are being issued...
BEIJING, July 4 (Xinhua) -- As Chinese President Xi Jinping once observed, in the face of global changes of the century, pursuing modernization...
(250703) -- ADDIS ABABA, July 3, 2025 (Xinhua) -- Liu Junying (L), head of the 25th batch of the Chinese medical team, poses for a...
(250703) -- GOMA (DR CONGO), July 3, 2025 (Xinhua) -- Benjamin Mbonimpa (2nd R), the Congo River Alliance (AFC)'s permanent secretary...
MAURITIUS, 3rd July, 2025 (WAM) - The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) concluded its first-ever official trade mission...
Data to end violence: United Republic of Tanzania “Before, I didn’t know where to report cases of violence. Now, I have...
Accra [Ghana], July 3 (ANI): Ministry of External Affair's Secretary (Economic Relations) Dammu Ravi stated that Prime Minister Narendra...