Ruto Sends Kenyan Contingent to DR Congo to Battle Armed Groups

Kenya President, H.E William Ruto, has said Kenya will always answer the call to promote peace and security in East Africa.

East African countries have a collective responsibility to work together to end conflicts and violence that deny the region the space to prosper, he added.

He was speaking on Wednesday at Embakasi Garrison when he flagged off the Kenyan contingent to the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) under the auspices of the East African Community Regional Force (EACRF).

“This deployment is significant and urgent as it responds to the collective aspirations of sustainable peace in our region. We owe our brotherly duty to DRC until the job is done,” he said.

The President added that Kenya’s participation in EACRF continues a proud legacy of peacekeeping by the Kenya Defence Forces. 

He asked the troops to discharge their mandate professionally.

Leaders of the East African Community (EAC) agreed in April to establish a joint force to help restore security in the region. 

Ruto said the troops were “on a mission to protect humanity…as neighbours, the destiny of DRC is intertwined with ours”.

He added: “We will not allow any armed groups, criminals and terrorists to deny us our shared prosperity.”

Kenya will command the force which will also include soldiers from Burundi, Uganda and South Sudan.  

Uganda and Burundi also sent troops to the DRC earlier at the invitation of the Congolese government.

A Rwandan contingent will be deployed along the border after Kinshasa objected to Kigali’s participation in any operations within the DRC for allegedly supporting M23 rebels that have been capturing towns.