Kenyan President William Ruto has stressed that sending Kenyan troops to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to fight rebel groups operating in the area is an «urgent» measure to achieve «sustainable peace in the region».
Thus, he explained that «this deployment is significant and urgent, given that it responds to the collective aspirations for sustainable peace in the region.» «We must maintain our duty of brotherhood to DRC until the job is done,» he said, as indicated by the Kenyan Presidency on its Twitter account.
«Kenya will always answer the call to promote peace and security in East Africa,» he has said, before advocating that countries in the region have a «collective responsibility» to «work together to end the conflicts and violence that deny the region space to prosper.»
The Kenyan president stressed that Kenya’s participation in the deployment, as part of an East African Community (EAC) decision, is part of Nairobi’s «proud peacekeeping legacy» and called on the troops involved to carry out their duties «in a professional manner».
During a speech, Ruto emphasized that the decision «sends a signal to the world about Kenya’s commitment to carry out its obligations and contribute to achieving and maintaining peace in the EAC region».
«Every society deserves the opportunity to experience peace and security. Without peace, human freedom is at risk, and without security, opportunities are a mirage and unrealizable,» he said, as reported by the Kenyan newspaper ‘The Standard’.
The Congolese provinces of North Kivu and Ituri, located in eastern DRC, have suffered a serious upsurge in insecurity in recent years due to the activities of various groups, including the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) – who have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State -, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) and the March 23 Movement (M23).
The East African Community regional force gained strength following an agreement reached by seven member states, although the current diplomatic crisis between the DRC and Rwanda, after the former accused the latter of supporting the M23 rebels, has made the latter the only one not to send troops.
The M23 has been accused since November 2021 of carrying out attacks against DRC Army positions in North Kivu, seven years after the parties reached a truce. UN experts have accused Uganda and Rwanda of supporting the rebels, although both countries have denied this.
