Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi has threatened to terminate the mandate of an East African Community [18] military force that deployed to the Democratic Republic of the Congo last year. The force was set up to contain an insurgency by the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group [12], which has uprooted nearly a million people in the country's east. The EAC claims the rebels have pulled back from occupied areas thanks to their intervention, but Congolese officials say the group remains at large [13] and accuse the EAC of inaction. The regional mission was unpopular from the outset [14] among Congolese, who are mindful of the destructive role neighboring states have played in their country. Yet new military interventions are being prepared, with the Southern African Development Community [19] (which includes South Africa, Angola, Mozambique and Tanzania) announcing plans to deploy troops [15]. The focus on the M23 is, meanwhile, pulling attention away from [20] DRC's other armed groups [21], some of which are intensifying attacks and expanding their territory.
From The New Humanitarian [22], May 12
See our last report [23] on M23 and the war in eastern DRC.
