APA – Kigali (Rwanda) – Gen Jean Bosco Kazura, the Chief of Defence Staff of the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF), has joined regional military leaders to the extraordinary meeting of army chiefs from East African Community partner states held in Bujumbura, Burundi, to discuss the security situation in eastern DR Congo.
A military statement obtained Tuesday by APA said that the purpose of the meeting was to find a sustainable solution to the rampant security crisis in eastern DR Congo.
In November last year, countries from the region decided to create the East African Regional Force (EACRF) – now comprising troops from Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, and South Sudan – currently deployed in eastern DR Congo with a mandate to restore peace in the region.
The regional force has noted that it continues to enhance the protection of civilians, opening up the main supply routes for the free flow of people and goods and aiding humanitarian assistance in the joint operation area for socioeconomic development in the ongoing peace and stability efforts in eastern DR Congo.
Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi has continuously pressed for the military option – aimed solely at the M23 rebels – but other regional leaders prefer the path of political dialogue as first priority.
CU/abj/APA