Retired President Uhuru Kenyatta has called for the East African Community (EAC) regional force to act as a neutral entity supporting Nairobi‑led mediation efforts in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Speaking on Thursday during a meeting with Huang Xia, the United Nations Secretary‑General’s Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region, the former head of state emphasized that “the East African Regional Force (EAC‑RF) must continue to enjoy the confidence of all parties if it is to be successful in its mandate.”
Kenyatta, who is facilitating the EAC‑led inter‑Congolese dialogue on restoring peace and stability, warned that the situation in eastern DRC remains a grave concern, particularly regarding humanitarian and security dimensions. He highlighted the difficulty of building trust among the various armed groups, governments, and affected communities, noting that the humanitarian condition of the population requires greater attention and support from the international community.
Militias have plagued the mineral‑rich region for decades, many of them a legacy of the wars that erupted in the 1990s and early 2000s. For sustainable peace, Kenyatta urged the mobilization of the international community around the EAC‑led process. Since November 2021, the rebel group M23 has seized large swathes of territory in the east, coming within miles of the commercial hub Goma. The DRC accuses its smaller neighbor Rwanda of backing M23.
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