President Tshisekedi asks EAC soldiers for assistance in fighting M23
Felix Antoine shilombo Tshisekedi, the president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, requested that the EAC troops conduct a frontal offensive against the M23 problem rather than continuing to function as mediators.
President Tshisekedi stated this when President Evariste Ndayimye of Burundi organized a conference of the heads of EAC member nations on February, 2023, to discuss the security issue in the DRC’s Eastern region.
After Evariste Ndayimye’s request, President Tshisekedi in his talks with Hadja Lahbib, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belgium, yesterday February 2, 2023 in Kinshasa, told him that he wants EAC forces to help him fight M23 instead of being observers or acts as a mediator.
This information was confirmed by Minister Hadja Lahbib after the talks when he talked to the media.
He said: “The meeting with President Tshisekedi focused on the talks in Luanda and Nairobi, where we reviewed the implementation of the decisions made in those talks. The other thing is that President Tshisekedi told me that he wants the EAC forces to stop acting as observers or mediators and instead help the FARDC suppress the M23 group.”
Minister Hadja Lahbib, was asked by journalists if he supports the request and replied that the EAC Community should decide if the forces should work as mediators or against M23.He said, “It’s not for me to decide. These forces are under the command of Kenya as approved by the EAC, and this organization is responsible for determining the role of these forces in the mission in the DRC.
Since the EAC troops arrived in Eastern DRC, they have often been criticized by the Government of this country for not attacking the M23 group in order to suppress it.
The Congolese, unlike the politicians of this country, have not stopped blaming themselves for the bias of the M23 and the implementation of the Balkanization plan.
Only, the leadership of these forces says that their mission is not to fight M23, but what will bring them to Eastern DRC is to stand between the FARDC and M23 in order to comply with the decisions of Luanda and Nairobi and to protect the safety of the people.
The plea from President Tshisekedi comes as the M23 is still in control of a large portion of Rutshuru Territory and combat has restarted in Masisi Territory, where the M23 has taken over several of the territory’s constituent districts.
