Nairobi — The East Africa Community Regional Force (EACRF) in the Democratic Regional Congo will remain in place until September 8 after an EAC Summit in Bujumbura resolved to extend its mandate.
The mandate of the EACRF forces had expired on March 8.
The resolution was made Wednesday during the 21st Extra-Ordinary Summit of the EAC Heads of State in Burundi's Capital Bujumbura
The move is aimed at consolidating the gains made by the EACRF forces who have been battling the M23 rebels in Eastern DRC.
The Heads of State including Kenya's William Ruto and his Burundi counterpart Évariste Ndayishimiye lauded Congo's Felix Tshisekedi for his commitment to restoration of peace in Eastern DRC and pledged to support him in the efforts.
"The summit reiterated its call to all parties to de-escalate tensions and to use established regional, continental and international mechanisms to resolve any disputes in the implementation of peace in Eastern DRC," a joint communique circulated on Thursday read in part.
Notably, the event was attended by only two Presidents, while the remaining leaders, Yoweri Museveni (Uganda), Samia Suluhu (Tanzania), Felix Tshisekedi (DRC), Paul Kagame (Rwanda), and Salva Kiir (South Sudan) sent representatives.
Tanzania sent Vice-President Dr Isidori Mpango. Others were Prime Minister of Rwanda Dr Édouard Ngirente and First Deputy Prime Minister of Uganda Rebecca Kadaga.
Reviewed progress
During the event the Heads of State received and adopted the reports on the peace and security situation in the Eastern DRC submitted by the facilitator of the EAC-led Nairobi process and the chairperson of the EAC chiefs of Defence Forces.
The summit congratulated the East African Community Regional Force for its achievement towards restoration of peace and security in Eastern DRC and acknowledged Kenya's Major General Aphaxard Muthuri Kiugu as the new Force Commander of EACRF.
It took note of the progress made by the facilitator and the EAC regional force in the implementation of the EAC-led Nairobi process and condemned the ceasefire violations.
"The Heads of State condemned in the strongest terms the ceasefire violations in Eastern DRC and directed the EAC regional force to take measures to stop their recurrence," the communique reads.
They further called on the DRC to facilitate full deployment by the Republic of South Sudan.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
M23 engagement
The summit further directed the EACRF to safeguard and maintain the areas vacated by M23 and other armed groups and to sustain the orderly withdrawal of M23 and other armed groups from the remaining occupied areas.
They also called on the peace keeping forces to protect civilians and support the return of internally displaced persons (IDPS) to the areas vacated by armed groups.
The summit also agreed to work with Chiefs of Defense Forces, MONUSCO and other stakeholders to visit and verify within three weeks the suitability of Rumangabo camp for pre- cantonement of M23 and other armed groups.
It directed that communications with M23 should be handled by the facilitator of the Nairobi-led peace process, former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta.
The summit urged the DRC and South Sudan to engage in bilateral discussions to resolve the issue of negative forces on the border between the two partner states.
The summit directed the EAC secretariat to constitute a technical evaluation team by June 15 to evaluate the implementation of the mandate of the EACRF.
The team to be composed of an officer at the rank of Brigadier General from each partner state will report to the sectoral council on cooperation on Defence Affairs within 90 days after the extension of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA).
The summit reiterated its call to all parties to de-escalate tensions and to use established regional, continental and international mechanisms to resolve any disputes in the implementation of peace in Eastern DRC.
