Regional
DRC seeks regional armies’ cooperation to eliminate armed terror groups
The Democratic Republic of Congo's army (FARDC) is seeking regional armies’ cooperation to fight and definitively neutralize internal and external armed terror groups operating in the country's east.
The main militia
groups operating in eastern DRC include the Democratic Forces for the
Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), the National Forces of Liberation (FNL) and
the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF). The
FDLR terror group is a remnant of the Rwandan genocidal forces, while FNL and
ADF are from Burundi and Uganda, respectively.
In a press
release signed on March 30 by the Spokesperson of FARDC, Maj. Gen Léon-Richard
Kasonga Cibangu, the Congolese army
stated that it wishes to strengthen its
military cooperation with the armies of the region to fight effectively and
definitively neutralize all armed groups
that disrupt peace in the sub-region.
As explained, the
combined effort to fight these terror groups is aimed at realizing regional
economic integration in a secure environment.
The DRC military
noted that cooperation already exists between FARDC and the Rwanda Defence
Forces as well as between the former and the armies of Uganda, Angola, and the
Central African Republic.
The same kind of
cooperation, it is noted, will be extended to other neighboring countries with
the objective of eradicating the armed terror groups' threat.
In September
2019, the armies of DRC, Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi and Tanzania met in the
eastern Congolese town of Goma and
agreed on intelligence sharing on cross-border terrorism so that those involved
can be tracked and apprehended.
Although the UN
peacekeeping mission (MONUSCO) has been deployed in eastern DRC for more than a
decade with authorization to use military force to restore peace and security
under a chapter seven mandate, it has done so little in terms of restoring
peace, security and stability in the region.
The proposed new
approach by President Felix Tshisekedi - to work with regional countries to
fight armed terror groups - is likely to be more successful, analysts say,
because most terror groups operating in the vast country come from neighboring
countries whose armies know them better.
Since President
Tshisekedi assumed office in 2019, the Congolese military has carried out
several military offensives against armed terror groups in the country's east.