DRC: the hypothesis of a deployment of an Angolan contingent in the east raises hopes

Some hail Angolan President João Lourenço's leadership rfi ©/Lígia Anjos

Text by: RFI Follow

2 min

This Friday, March 17, the Angolan Parliament will examine the deployment of a military contingent in eastern DRC. According to the Angolan presidency, this unit's mission is to secure the M23 cantonment areas and protect members of the Ad Hoc Verification Mechanism, headed by an Angolan general. Even if officially this force will not have an offensive mandate, according to the Congolese authorities, this deployment raises a lot of hope.

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With our correspondent in Kinshasa, Patient Ligodi

The high expectations of the Congolese vis-à-vis Angola are explained above all by their mistrust vis-à-vis other countries, including some member countries of the East African Community of States, the EAC. In the presidency of the Republic, in the government, in parliament, and even in the opposition, there is distrust, for example, of Uganda, which some accuse of being in league with Rwanda.

Many in Félix Tshisekedi's entourage recall the Rwandan-Ugandan aggression of 1998 and the support given by these two countries to the RCD rebellion and its various variations. There is also distrust of the regional strength of the EAC itself.

Last Wednesday, Christophe Mboso, the president of the National Assembly, openly decried this force whose troops "give the impression of being on holiday in the theater of military operations and whose presence risks becoming unnecessarily expensive".

Even in the opposition, many see Angola as a much more reliable ally than other countries. Some recall that it was thanks to SADC members, including Zimbabwe, Namibia and especially Angola, that Kinshasa did not fall in 1998 into the hands of the RCD supported by Rwanda.

Moïse Katumbi, for example, considers the announcement of Angola's involvement in the observation of the M23 withdrawal to be good news. According to him, this responds to the need to see a strategic and impartial partner to support the FARDC in its mission to restore peace and the integrity of the DRC's borders.

The announcement of the involvement of the #Angola in monitoring the withdrawal of the M23 is good news that responds to our request to finally see a strategic & impartial partner support the FARDC in their mission to restore peace and the integrity of the #RDC's borders.

— Moise Katumbi (@moise_katumbi) March 11, 2023

The same goes for Martin Fayulu. The opponent appreciates "at its true value the expected sending of this unit of the Angolan army" and praises the leadership of President João Lourenço. He also encouraged the other Heads of State of SADC and ECCAS to become more involved.

Let us appreciate the dispatch of a military unit by Angola to eastern #RDC. Commend the leadership of President João Lourenço @jlprdeangola in the search for peace in the DRC and encourage other SADC and ECCAS Heads of State to do the same.

— Martin Fayulu (@MartinFayulu) March 13, 2023

► Read and listen also "Direct contacts were made on February 28 with the M23," says Angolan President João Lourenço

DRC: the hypothesis of a deployment of an Angolan contingent in the east raises hopes

DRC: the hypothesis of a deployment of an Angolan contingent in the east raises hopes

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