GOMA, DR Congo
Democratic Republic of Congo
government troops and United Nations peacekeepers launched a joint operation
aimed at reinforcing security around the capital of the North Kivu province,
Goma.Lieutenant General Otávio Rodrigues de Miranda Filho, Force Commander of the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo November 06, 2023
The city as well as Sake face
threats from several armed groups, including from the M23 rebels. Group which
Congo accuses Rwanda of supporting.
United Nations experts
concluded in a rteport that Rwanda backs the M23, although Kigali denies the
claim.
The UN's Force commander, Lt.
Gen. Otávio Rodrigues de Miranda Filho from Brazil was present Monday (Nov. 06)
at the launch of one joint patrol and emphasised his forces commitment to
helping the Congolese troops.
“We have a full commitment
with the protection of the citizens of the DRC and all soldiers that are
deployed here. They are here outside our bases because they are ready to die,
if necessary, to protect the population of this country,” Lt. Gen. the MONUSCO
Force Commander said.
Fighting in the region has
forced residents to flee their villages.
The new joint operation, named
Springbok, has established several fresh defensive positions, with UN armoured
vehicles and heavily armed troops seen deployed in the hilly terrain near Sake.
Local militia, known as
"Wazalendo", and the M23 rebels from the Kibumba and Buhumba region
have been clashing in the Nyiragongo territory, some twenty kilometers from
Goma.
Securing the Goma region is
one of MONUSCO's key tasks.
Locals criticise the UN for
failing to bring peace to the country, and mobs have rioted outside its bases.
Congo's government has called for MONUSCO to leave the country.
Peacekeepers have been present
in DRC since 1999 but militia violence has nonetheless continued to plague the
east.
The Congolese government has
requested MONUSCO's "accelerated" departure, from December.
Tshisekedi said that the
mission of some 14,000 peacekeepers "has not succeeded in confronting the
rebellions and armed conflicts... nor in protecting the civilian
populations."
President’s
pronouncement, came just weeks after the seven-nation East African Community
(EAC) extended the mandate of a regional military force deployed to quell
violence in eastern DRC.
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