President William Ruto has said that Kenya is the only country that has deployed its military to the Democratic Republic of Congo to combat the M23 rebels in the Eastern part of the country.
According to Ruto, the other five member states of the East African Community (EAC); including Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Burundi and South Sudan are yet to deploy their army to DR Congo.
“It is true. Kenya is the only country that has deployed (its forces) in DRC. It was agreed that five countries deploy…only Kenya has deployed. We are waiting and we have agreed that by end of this month, all the other countries will deploy,” he said in an interview with Aljazeera on Sunday.
“We have agreed on metrics of deployment, a course of action and that this military intervention is going to be parallel with a political engagement of combatants on the ground, M23 and all the other fighting forces,” he added.
Kenya’s Head of State further stated that the peace mission in DRC will not only involve military action, but also political strategies.
“It has to be a combined effort between the military track and a political track. And we have agreed as EAC on the way forward.”
In February 2023, army chiefs from the EAC member states met in Nairobi and directed the immediate deployment of troops from countries yet to join the regional force in Goma.
