On Friday, a tragic incident occurred when a rebel group carried out an ambush, resulting in the death of five individuals, including a Kenyan truck driver.
Government employee Barthelemy Kambale, who was interviewed by the press yesterday, recounted that an ambush took place in Kasindi, Beni territory. The shootings and subsequent fires killed two truckers (one Kenyan and one Congolese), two Ugandan military personnel and a rebel attacker believed to belong to the ADF group. Kambale went on to detail the brutal events at the parking lot, describing how the ambush occurred when the rebels drove up to the parking area, blocked the road and opened fire at the crowd.
In a subsequent confrontation involving Ugandan soldiers and the rebel group, one ADF rebel was killed. It’s the second time the rebels have executed an assault that has resulted in multiple deaths. This is a clear sign that the situation is surpassing the collaborative forces of DRC authorities and East Africa Regional Forces since they started their joint endeavour back in 2021 to oust the militants from their enclaves in the DRC.
Troops from multiple East African nations, including Burundi, Kenya, South Sudan, and Uganda, arrived in the conflict-riddled nation to restore peace and promote stability. In an unfortunate occurrence on Wednesday, a Kenyan soldier tragically passed away during a targeted mortar fire on an East African Regional Forces military settlement located in the Kibumba region. Despite the deployment, the Congolese government has since issued requests for the East African Regional Forces to withdraw its troops over doubts that its presence has not generated a durable solution for the conflict.
DRC President Félix Tshisekedi has issued an ultimatum for the forces to be withdrawn by December 2023, following two extensions of the mission’s mandate since it began in 2022.
