DRC seeks regional armies’ cooperation to eliminate armed terror groups

Maj. Gen. Kasonga Cibangu Léon-Richard, FARDC spokesperson

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.