#eacrf

[workersolidarity]

🇺🇬🇨🇩 🚨 UGANDA BEGINS WITHDRAWEL OF 1'000 TROOPS FROM PEACEKEEPING MISSION IN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

The Ugandan Military began the withdrawal of 1'000 troops deployed in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo for the regional peacekeeping force stationed in the country.

The move comes after Kinasha's Military issued a statement late Friday announcing a decision not to extend the mandate of the East African Community Regional Force (EACRF) beyond Dec. 8th.

According to the statement, the pull-out of Military assets in a phased manner, gradual and orderly, and sequentially deployed in March, 2023 will end on Jan. 7th, 2024.

"UPDF will ensure to expedite the pull-out of its forces and equipment within the approved timelines as enshrined in the extraordinary meeting of EAC CDFS (Chief of Defense Forces) held on Dec. 6," said Capt. Ahmad Hassan Kato, UPDF's contingent spokesperson.

CDF's meetings in Arusha, Tanzania, upheld DRC's decision and recommended to EAC defense ministers that EACRF officially ceases operations in the east African country, with immediate effect from Dec 8th.

Following the decision, Uganda, Burundi, Kenya, and South Sudan deployed troops to the region, which was endorsed and adopted by the regional leaders at the 3rd East African Community Heads of State Conclave on Peace and Security in eastern DRC, held in Nairobi last June.

"Uganda contingent urges all armed groups (in eastern DRC) to facilitate the withdrawal of the UPDF troops by observing total ceasefire so as to allow the forces to exit from the mission area safely," said Kato.

According to the Ugandan Military, other troops deployed to the eastern DRC as part of a joint military operation with their Congolese counterparts will continue the hunt against the Allied Democratic Forces in the region.

Via@XinhuaNews

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@WorkerSolidarityNews

[khizuo]

(this article was published on Nov. 3, 2023. I highly recommend reading the whole thing to get a good overview of conflict in the DRC as of that date.)

Almost seven million people have been internally displaced in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) — the highest number on record— amid an escalation of fighting in a war that has been ongoing for two decades.  The country’s eastern provinces have been the worst-affected following a resurgence of attacks by the M23 rebel militia, internationally acknowledged to be a proxy force backed by neighboring Rwanda, in 2021. The DRC currently also has over 100 armed groups operating within its territory. 

In Masisi for instance, there has been a “worrying increase” in the cases of severe acute malnutrition, according to Doctors Without Borders (MSF). Reduced trade amid the ongoing conflict has also led to a major increase in food prices, with the cost of cassava flour rising by four times.  The ongoing fighting has also had a severe impact on the health and disease response, with the DRC reporting the highest number of suspected cholera cases and deaths in West and Central Africa region. The country alone accounts for almost 80% of disease transmissions and approximately 60% of all deaths, as per a report released by UNICEF last month. The provinces of North and South Kivu alone accounted for 80% of all cases in the country and 33% of all deaths. 

The current mandate of the EACRF is set to expire on December 8. Meanwhile, the DRC has also called for a removal of the UN peacekeeping force, MONUSCO, whose current mandate will expire on December 20, around the same time as the country is set to hold its elections.  The Congolese government has indicated that it wants the EACRF to withdraw from the country after its current mandate expires. On November 1, government spokesperson Patrick Muyaya said, “some Congolese are now questioning why we even asked to join the EAC […] When we joined the EAC, it was to connect our country with the region. The regional bloc was committed to peacebuilding but unfortunately, we have little progress.” 

[swldx]

BBC 0428 4 Apr 2023

12095Khz 0358 4 APR 2023 - BBC (UNITED KINGDOM) in ENGLISH from TALATA VOLONONDRY. SINPO = 45434. English, dead carrier s/on @0358z then ID@0359z pips and newsday preview. @0401z World News anchored by Chris Berrow. Former US President Donald Trump has been consulting lawyers at Trump Tower in New York City as he prepares to face history-making criminal charges. He has been under investigation over hush money paid just before the 2016 election to a porn star who says they had sex. He denies wrongdoing. Extra security measures are in place with the authorities expecting protests outside the Manhattan court. Mr Trump, 76, is the first ex-US president to face a criminal case. The charges he faces will be disclosed in full at the hearing, which is scheduled for around 14:15 local time (19:15 BST). His lawyers have already said he will plead not guilty. The former president is expected first to surrender at the office of Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg before he is arraigned in court. Several people have been injured - some seriously - after a passenger train and a freight train collided in the western Netherlands, local media report. They say the incident happened in the village of Voorschoten at about 03:30 local time (01:30 GMT) on Tuesday. Emergency services and medics are now working on the scene, helping the injured. The passenger train derailed after the collision. Honduras' government deployed hundreds of soldiers across the country as part of a plan to fight criminal groups. M23 rebels have started withdrawing and handing over their bases in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to the East African Community Regional Force (EACRF). The Australian government said on Tuesday it will remove TikTok from all federal government-owned devices over security concerns, becoming the latest U.S. allied country to initiate action against the Chinese-owned video app. Authorities on Friday reassured anxious Tunisians there is no power vacuum in the North African state, shaken by President Beji Caid Essebsi's hospitalisation on the same day as twin suicide attacks in the capital. Essebsi, 92, was taken to hospital for a "serious illness" on Thursday, even as the blasts claimed by the Islamic State group killed a police officer in Tunis and wounded several other people. Afghanistan, where landmines have maimed or killed more people than anywhere else, still has thousands of uncleared devices threatening about 1,537 communities, says a UN report released on Sunday. The report marking the International Day for Mine Awareness on April 4, warns that 70 countries still have uncleared landmines that continue to kill or maim innocent people. About 17.5% of the global adult population – roughly one in six – will experience infertility at some point in their lifetime, the 98-page report published by the World Health Organization (WHO) says. The figures are its first estimates of infertility prevalence in more than a decade. @0406z "Newsday" begins. Backyard fence antenna, Etón e1XM. 250kW, beamAz 315°, bearing 63°. Received at Plymouth, United States, 15359KM from transmitter at Talata Volonondry. Local time: 2258.

[remotejobslisting]

KDF has sent a third group of soldiers to the DRC Congo.

KDF has sent a third group of soldiers to the DRC Congo.

The Embakasi Garrison in Nairobi has sent a third group of Kenyan soldiers to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Two weeks ago, other members of the East African Community Regional Force (EACRF) departed the nation to join the war against the M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Prior to their departure, Kenya Army Major General Peter Muteti was appointed as the KDF’s Deputy…

[infosurbaines]

le discret lobbying de Macron en faveur du déploiement kényan – Jeune Afrique

le discret lobbying de Macron en faveur du déploiement kényan – Jeune Afrique

Après avoir tergiversé sur son implication au sein du processus de Nairobi, impulsé par son prédécesseur Uhuru Kenyatta, Guillaume Ruto a obtenu le 10 novembre l’approbation par le parlement kényan du déploiement de 903 soldats au sein de la force régionale de l’East African Community (EACRF). À ce stade, quelque 200 militaires kényans ont déjà pris leurs quartiers à Goma, où est situé le siège…

[infosurbaines]

Le Kenya confirme le déploiement imminent de la Force régionale de l'EAC en RDC

Le Kenya confirme le déploiement imminent de la Force régionale de l’EAC en RDC

Dans un communiqué rendu public ce mardi 1er novembre 2022, les Forces de Défense du Kenya (KDF) ont annoncé la tenue à partir de 8 heures et demi de ce mercredi 02 novembre, d’une cérémonie de la présentation du drapeau aux troupes des KDF à la Force régionale de la Communauté de l’Afrique de l’Est (EACRF) à Embakasi Garrison, Nairobi. Le déploiement de troupes kenyanes en RDC fait suite à une…