North Kivu : 48 hours is the ultimatum set by local armed groups to the regional force to leave the DRC

This Wednesday, local armed self-defense groups issued an ultimatum to the regional EAC force to leave its positions in Masisi, Rutshuru and Nyiragongo. It is in the province of North Kivu in the east of Congo. This Tuesday, Kinshasa, through its spokesperson, expressed its desire to drive the EAC force from its territory. Force officials have not yet reacted. INFO SOS Médias Burundi

It is leaders of the armed groups united within the Wazalendu who gave the ultimatum.

“We give the EAC 48 hours to leave Rutshuru, Nyiragongo and Masisi”, they threatened.

The threat was launched the day after Kinshasa’s declaration through its spokesperson, Patrick Muyaya Katembwe, going in the same direction.

He said there is no apparent reason to extend the mandate of the EAC force on the Congolese soil.

“The Congolese government resolves the problems of its population. Among its responsibilities, also includes the defense of the national territory. The force of the EAC has done nothing to secure the entities of the province of North Kivu. Even the Congolese head of state has repeatedly decried that situation”, he noted, encouraging fighters from local militias maintained by the Congolese authorities to fight “because they protect civilians.”

According to the militiamen, contingents from countries in the sub-region do not serve the cause of the DRC, but rather collaborate with the M23.

“We were able to discover that the elements of the force are in close collaboration with the M23. In addition, they do not facilitate our tracking operations against the M23”, explains Séraphin Nsabimana, spokesperson for local armed groups in the territory of Masisi.

Officials of the EAC Regional Force have not yet reacted.

At the beginning of last September, the heads of state of the East African economic bloc took the decision to extend the mandate of the regional force until December 8, 2023.

This force and MONUSCO (United Nations Mission in the DRC) are still struggling to put an end to insecurity in the mineral-rich region of the vast central African country.

At least 57 people died in a demonstration against the two missions last August in the city of Goma (capital of North Kivu), according to a report from Congolese authorities.

In 2022, at least 37 civilians were killed and more than 170 others injured in anti-Monusco protests in cities and regions in the eastern region of Congo, according to the Congolese government.