Troops Lead East African Peacekeeping Mission In DRC

Kenya is deploying peacekeeping troops to the Democratic Republic of the Congo as part of an East African Community (EAC) mission, reports the Star (Nairobi).

On Wednesday, Kenyan President William Ruto oversaw a flag ceremony at the Embakasi Garrison in Nairobi marking the start of the deployment.

Kenya is commanding the EAC force, which includes troops from Burundi, South Sudan and Uganda, reported Agence France-Presse.

The EAC agreed in April to send the force after the M23 rebel group in the eastern DRC resumed attacks in late 2021.

The Kenyan contingent is scheduled to deploy for an initial six months, with their headquarters in Goma, the capital of North Kivu province.

The size of the Kenyan force has not been made public, although the military said that nearly 1,000 troops had taken part in predeployment training.