The East African Community’s troop deployment to combat hundreds of militias, regional proxy armies and mercenaries roaming the vast green jungles in the volatile eastern DR Congo has kicked off in earnest.
This also comes as a bold and decisive step by the EAC bloc to resolve one of the longest standing conflicts on the African continent on perhaps the wealthiest country on earth afflicted by the paradox of plenty.
Although all member states agree that there is an urgent need to pacify eastern Congo in order to tap into its virgin market, the deployment is specific to the combat readiness of each country.
The Burundian forces deployed in July while Kenya flagged off its contingent on Wednesday that will augment the already deployed units of its Special Forces, which have been undertaking a reconnaissance mission.
According to a 26-page classified Concept of Operations document signed by all army chiefs from the EAC member states in June, eastern Congo has been divided into six sectors with each country given a specific sector to pacify.
In all the six sectors, every troop contributing country is supposed to undertake joint operations with the Congolese army except Rwanda which had pledged two battalions but the document says its forces must remain at the border as “a block guard”.
“Rwanda pledged to deploy in Sector Four and Five in North and South Kivu. However, DRC wishes that Rwanda deploys within the border with DRC. Rwandan troops will therefore deploy in their own territory along the Rwanda-DRC border, adjacent to the province of North Kivu and South Kivu as a block guard,” the classified document reads.
Out of the six sectors, the Kenyan troops face the biggest challenge of M23 in Sector Four which is North Kivu, where rebels have captured territory and are threatening to march and capture Goma, the capital of North Kivu Province.
It’s a fluid situation for Kenya which is supposed to lead the mission in an asymmetrical warfare against enemies who are accustomed to the dicey jungle terrain.
According to the document, Sector One, Uele region in the North East of DRC is under South Sudan that is supposed to send one battalion to deal with a few elements of the Lords’ Resistance Army rebels who have been dealing in illegal wildlife trade for survival.
The area has also been receiving refugees escaping fighting between the Central African Republic government forces and the rebels of the Coalition of Patriots for Change.
The Uele region which was created by the Belgian colonialists in 1912 also has some rebel elements of Seleka, Anti Baraka and CODECO, a loose association of Lendu militia groups.
But with South Sudan’s internal security challenges, it’s unclear whether the Juba government has the capacity and the logistics to deploy into the deeper recesses in the region that is rich with gold but abandoned and covered with thick jungles.
Uganda is supposed to take charge of Sector Two and Three. Sector Two is Ituri region and Sector Three is Grand Nord region composed of Lubero and Beni territories where the UPDF Operation Shujja under the new command of Maj Gen Dick Olum has been ongoing for almost a year against the ISIS linked Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) that have killed, maimed and displaced thousands of the Congolese.
The UPDF Spokesperson Brig Gen Felix Kulayigye said Operation Shujja which will make a year on November 16, 2022 will remain under a bilateral arrangement with Kinshasa government with its rules of engagement different from those of the EAC regional forces.
“Under the East African Community Regional Force, we are deploying to enable a political process. But for Operation Shujja, that’s a different arrangement,” he said.
This means the Ugandan forces deployed in the two sectors, will be under the same Command and Control but have different rules of engagement with the rebels.
According to sources, Sector Two has mostly Congolese militias led by tribal chiefs and Uganda doesn’t want to be involved in such conflicts.
But Sector Three code named SUKOLA I in the EAC classified document, the UPDF will have to remain carrying out offensive operations against ADF which is seen as a foreign rebel outfit that the region believes must be fought and be defeated.
Although Brig Kulayigye says that the rules of engagement do not allow EACRF to compel or force the negative elements to engage in the political process, the operation document says the grand strategic aim is to “enforce peace and stabilise the situation in Eastern DRC to create secure and safe environment for national reconciliation.”
Under the United Nations, enforcing peace would mean using military means to compel the warring parties to seek negotiations and lay down their arms.
During the EAC Heads of State Summit in Nairobi in June, chaired by the former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, it was also agreed that the EAC Force can fight the rebels if necessary.
Kenya’s Sector Four which is code named SUKOLA II will be closely monitored by the Rwanda forces that will be close to their border with DRC.
Sector Five and Six will be located in North-South Kivu Sector and be under the command of a joint force of Tanzanian and Burundian fighters. Although Tanzania pledged two battalions, it’s non-committal on when its forces would be deployed.
This is the first time in the history of the EAC bloc that troops will be deployed since it was started in 1967 before it collapsed in 1977 and was revived in 2000.
However, most individual member states have their troops deployed across Africa either under multilateral or bilateral arrangements for peacekeeping and training missions.
Uganda, Kenya and Burundi have their troops in Somalia under African Union Transition Mission in Somalia [ATMIS], formerly African Union Mission of Somalia
(AMISOM).
Under the bilateral arrangement, Uganda has its troops in Equatorial Guinea for a training mission and the Kenyan Defence Forces and Rwanda Defence Forces are both in South Sudan under the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
The Rwandans are also deployed in the Central African Republic still under the UN mission and Mozambique under a bilateral arrangement to fight the ISIS-linked militants who have been killing people in Cabo Delgado province.
Tanzania, which is lukewarm towards the deployment, has previously sent a battalion in DR Congo under the Force Intervention Brigade (FIB) in 2013.
Rwanda has previously accused Uganda, Burundi and DR Congo of shoring up rebel fighters who are keen to sow mayhem while DRC has accused Rwanda of supplying M23 rebels with weapons to destabilise the Kishansha government, and Uganda and Burundi have accused Rwanda of sponsoring subversive activities in their countries.
