The East African Community Regional Force (EACRF) has begun withdrawing from DR Congo just over a year since it was deployed to support peace efforts for the country's conflict-ridden east.
The withdrawal comes less than 10 days before the regional force's mandate expires on December 8.
The first group of up to 100 Kenyan troops boarded a plane at Goma Airport in eastern DR Congo, bound for Nairobi on the night of Saturday, December 2, according to local media reports.
It comes after the Congolese government refused to renew the regional force's mandate, a decision that was communicated to the Summit of the EAC Heads of State on November 24.
Although the EAC Regional Force did not release any official communication about the withdrawal, it said on X that Kenya's Chief of Defence Forces Gen. Francis Ogolla was in Goma on Saturday and met with the Kenyan troops serving under both EAC and UN missions.
Gen. Ogolla called on the troops "to remain unified and vigilant as the EACRF mission enters a transition phase following the non-renewal of the EACRF mandate by the Host Nation beyond 8th Dec 2023, and the planned deployment of the South African Development Community (SADC) troops, the regional force said.
The summit had directed EAC and SADC army chiefs to meet before December 8 and deliberate the way forward for the regional force.
The EAC Regional Force was deployed in November 2022 to support peace efforts and especially observe the withdrawal of the M23 rebel group, which fights the Congolese army in North Kivu province.
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The regional force, with troops from Kenya, Burundi, Uganda, and South Sudan, currently occupies the rebels' vacated positions.
However, the Congolese government has urged the regional force to fight the M23, which was not part of its mandate. Its first force commander resigned in April, citing threats to his security.
Even though it has begun withdrawing from North Kivu, the regional force said the situation remains uncertain following the breach of ceasefire in October, which has escalated the hostilities.
Eastern DR Congo, which is home to more than 130 local and foreign armed groups, has been volatile for nearly three decades.
Multiple interventions, including one of the UN's longest and largest peacekeeping missions, MONUSCO, failed to end the decades of violence.
The 25-year-old UN mission in the country has been the target of demonstrations for failing to end the insecurity and plans to withdraw starting in December.
