The Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) has today Saturday, November 26, 2022, dispatched the third batch of troops to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) from the Embakasi Garrison, Nairobi County.
Deputy commander, Kenya Army Major General Peter Muteti commissioned the departure of the soldiers.
The group will join their colleagues who left the country under the East African Community Regional Force (EACRF) two weeks ago.
In a statement, Muteti while urging the troops to be good ambassadors of KDF acknowledged that the first batch is already making great strides in restoring peace in the Eastern pary of DRC.
He also implored the soldiers to follow the law and protect lives even as they embark on their mission to restore peace in the aforementioned country.
“KDF is a professional, credible, mission-capable Force and we are proud of our brand. When we say you’re an arrowhead, we mean it since we believe in you. Let our motto of mission readiness be alive,” Muteti said.
While exuding confidence in the soldiers, Muteti further relayed his message of goodwill and affirmed that the troops will emerge victorious.
Deputy Commander, Kenya Army Major General Peter Muteti has today Saturday 26 November 2022 commissioned the third batch of the main body deployed to the Democratic Republic of Congo at Embakasi Garrison, Nairobi.https://t.co/xv67Eadupc pic.twitter.com/v4Jl5mQn1H— Kenya Defence Forces (@kdfinfo) November 26, 2022
Ruto deploys troops
President William Ruto on September 24, 2022, maintained that the government would deploy KDF troops to the eastern part of the DRC to ease conflict in the region.
DRC, fraught with armed clashes, political instability and human rights violations, has been mired in conflict for decades.
Chief of Defence Forces Robert Kibochi on November 12, 2022, flagged off the first batch of KDF soldiers who were deployed for the peace-keeping mission.
The second batch comprising 200 KDF soldiers left for DRC on November 16, 2022.
Kenya will deploy a total of 903 soldiers to DRC. Kenyan taxpayers will cough up Ksh4.4 billion to support the KDF troops deployed in the DRC on the peacekeeping mission for a six-month period.
Conflict in Congo
DRC which boasts of vast minerals and natural resources has witnessed one of the world's longest-running conflicts which have led to the displacement of 2.2 million as of 2018.
A statistic by the United Nations (UN) reveals that there are at least 122 armed rebel groups causing a high spate of insecurities in the region.
Among the key players in the conflict are CODECO which is a self-defence militia group. The group said to have operated since 2013 has been the cause of several deaths under unclear grievances.
Others are the Mai Mai which was launched in 1964, and the M23 which was formed in 2009 following a peace tract between the Congolese government and the Pro-Tutsi militia.
It is reported that the rebels form a base to launch attacks on immediate neighbours such as Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Rwanda and Uganda.
So far the security instability has led to massive displacement of Congolese citizens and loss of lives.
