Ugandan troops complete withdrawal from DRC

Ugandan troops last week completed the total withdrawal from the war-torn province of North Kivu, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The DRC government declined to renew the mandate of East African Community Regional Force (EACRF) troops that were in the province under a peacekeeping mission that expired on December 8, 2023. 

A section of civilians and political activists accused the troops of failure to launch an assault against the March 23 Movement (M23) rebels. 

Col Michael Walaka Hyeroba, commander of the Ugandan troops told journalists after stepping on the Ugandan side of Bunagana in Kisoro district that all the troops that had been deployed under the 9th and 27th Battalions in Rutshuru territory have been fully withdrawn with their military equipment. 

Hyeroba lamented that the decision to withdraw EACRF troops from North Kivu province was made prematurely because the disarmament and integration program was not achieved.

Hyeroba suggested that the problem in the area can only be solved by dialogue, not war. The mandate of troops from Uganda, Kenya, Burundi and South Sudan deployed in North Kivu province in late 2022 was to reclaim positions that were previously held by the M23 rebels after they defeated the Armed Forces of Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) soldiers and to establish a buffer zone to prevent further clashes between M23 rebels and FARDC soldiers. 

This was in accordance with the resolutions made and approved by the East African Regional Heads of State conclave held on April 21, 2022, in Nairobi, Extra-Ordinary Summit of East African Presidents (Bujumbura) on February 4, 2023, and the decisions of the Chief of Defense Forces of February 9, 2023, in Nairobi.