MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th March, 2023) Uganda will deploy 1,000 soldiers to a conflict zone in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in March, media reported on Friday, referring to a source in the Ugandan army.
The Ugandan troops will be sent to North Kivu, a province of the DRC currently occupied by the M23 rebel group, Ugandan newspaper Daily Monitor reported, adding that there are already Kenyan soldiers deployed there.
Burundian forces are also present in the province, and South Sudan announced its intention to sent 750 soldiers to the conflict-torn province, the media reported.
The M23 is a pro-Tutsi armed group that resumed its actions in November 2021 after a hiatus caused by a severe military defeat in 2013. The rebels accuse the government of the DRC of violating agreements providing for the integration of the disarmed M23 fighters in the country's army.
In June 2022, the leaders of the East African countries agreed to establish regional armed forces in order to thwart the conflict in the east of the DRC. In November, agreements providing for a ceasefire were achieved, but the M23 group said it did not take part in the talks and would not abide by the agreements.
