The Kenya Defense Force (KDF) troops have departed for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to join a United Nations peacekeeping force tasked with deescalating tensions fuelled by armed groups, especially in the eastern part of the country.
According to a statement issued by KDF on Sunday, August 25, 2024, the first batch of the fourth contingent of the Kenya Quick Reaction Force (KENQRF 4) to the DRC was officially flagged off Saturday, marking the commencement of their peacekeeping mission.
Brigadier Stephen Kapkory, the base commander of Embakasi Air Base, said the KENQRF 4 will join the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO), which is focused on stabilizing the eastern part of DRC.
He noted the troops’ preparedness, professional training, and clear understanding of their mandate, expressing confidence in their readiness and capability for the mission.
“I am confident in your level of training and professionalism. Be good ambassadors of the Republic of Kenya by maintaining a high sense of professionalism and discipline in all your undertakings and uphold the exemplary performance registered by your predecessors,” Kapkory said in a statement issued in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya.
KENQRF 4 will be engaged in operations against armed groups, protecting civilians, supporting humanitarian efforts, and aiding in the disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration of former combatants, a task that the previous contingents have successfully performed, the statement adds.
Barely hours after the deployment of the Kenyan troops, renewed fighting between DRC’s army and M23 rebels broke out on Sunday, August 25, around a densely populated town in eastern North Kivu province.
M23 spokesman Willy Ngoma said government forces attacked several rebel positions around Kirumba early on Sunday morning and that fighting was ongoing.
In a statement, the Congolese army also reported clashes with the M23 rebels in the village of Kikuvo, around a dozen kilometres away from Kirumba.
Military efforts to push the rebels back have intensified over the past year as regionally brokered ceasefires keep failing.
The fighting has driven more than 1.7 million people from their homes in North Kivu, taking the total number of Congolese displaced by multiple conflicts to a record 7.2 million and causing a refugee influx in neighboring Uganda, according to the U.N.
