BY GRACE MACHA IN ARUSHA
For the East African Community (EAC) terms for restoration of everlasting peace and stability in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are clear.
These include, among others, ceasefire by the warring groups and withdrawal of all the armed groups as directed by the regional leaders.
"All parties to the conflict must implement the ceasefire directive", insists the secretary general Peter Mathuki.
The same parties, he went on, should observe withdrawal timelines and join the peace seeking political process.
Dr.Mathuki affirmed the EAC's position on the crisis on Thursday last week after the meeting of the military chiefs from the region last week.
The meeting in Bujumbura was convened to review the implementation of the regional leaders' directive to contain insecurity in eastern Congo.
Accordingly, the military chiefs were informed that a monitoring and verification mission has been deployed to evaluate the security situation in the affected areas.
To cap it all, Uganda and South Sudan on Wednesday became the latest countries to deploy their forces in eastern Congo.
Kenya and Burundi sent their military to the strife-torn country in November last year and last month respectively with no word on Tanzania.
The SG was emphatic that the monitoring and verification mechanism on DR Congo peace was squarely bent on "ceasefire and withdrawal of all armed (rebel) groups".
Although maintaining that the EAC was keen to see the Heads of State directive observed, the deployment of the regional force was welcome.
The EAC Regional Force in Eastern Congo (EARF) was sent to the volatile region in November last year at the height of fighting led by a contingent from Kenya.
"The force has been deployed to support the ceasefire and the restoration of peace and stability in eastern DRC", he said.
It has not been established if the EARF, which had been sent there largely to contain the M23 offensive, had been given powers to fight.
The M23 rebels have conquered swathes of territory in eastern DRC since taking up arms again in late 2021 after years of dormancy.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced by the conflict, with the rebels also threatening to surround the city of Goma.
In June last year, the seven-nation EAC decided to create a military force with the aim of stabilising volatile eastern Congo.
The EARF commander from Kenyan General Jeff Nyagah was quoted by the wire agencies last week saying with more states deploying their forces, the M23 withdrawal would be "sequenced".
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