DRC: a company of Burundian soldiers expected in North Kivu
These soldiers should be deployed in Sake, 20 kilometers west of Goma (illustration).
AFP - CARL DE SOUZA
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
A hundred Burundian soldiers are expected this Saturday, March 4 in Goma.
They are part of a contingent to be deployed in North Kivu, plagued by armed groups, with a mandate from the Community of East African States (EAC).
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It is an entire company, a hundred men, dressed, equipped and armed, who is expected this Saturday in Goma, explains a senior officer of the Burundian army.
These soldiers should soon be deployed to Sake, 20 kilometers west of Goma "
to ensure that the ceasefire between the parties is respected
", the source said.
They are also expected to take up positions in Kitshanga and Kilorirwe, now under the control of the M23 rebellion.
They intervene in a very sensitive context.
According to a timetable adopted by East African heads of state three weeks ago, “
all armed groups
”, including the M23, must withdraw from the region after a three-step process , by March 30.
But on the ground, the situation is uncertain.
That said, these "
precursor elements
", expected on Saturday, are part of a larger contingent of a thousand men, who to date are barracked near Bujumbura, explains this high-ranking Burundian, and who are "
ready soon to be deployed
" in turn in the DRC.
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