The file photo shows Kenyan Chief of Defence Forces General Robert Kibochi (L, Front) hands over the national flag to Lieutenant Colonel Abdi Galgalo at the Kenya Army Embakasi Barracks in Nairobi, capital of Kenya, June 15, 2021. (Photo by Fred Mutune/Xinhua)
Kenyan President William Ruto on Wednesday flagged off troops headed for a peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
NAIROBI, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan President William Ruto on Wednesday flagged off troops headed for a peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Ruto said the Kenyan contingent to the eastern part of the DRC will work under the auspices of the East African Community Regional Force (EACRF).
"We are sending a signal to the world of our commitment to perform our obligations by contributing to the achievement and maintenance of peace and stability in our region," Ruto said in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya.
The deployment of Kenyan troops to the DRC follows a decision endorsed and adopted by regional leaders at the third EAC Heads of State Conclave on Peace and Security in eastern DRC held in Nairobi in June.
The president noted that the DRC has made encouraging steps to stabilize and create a national capacity to provide security services as well as guarantee opportunities for its citizens.
"The country remains, however, burdened with serious challenges, and I believe that we owe a brotherly duty of solidarity to meet DRC halfway and stand together until the job is done. The situation in eastern DRC remains fluid at the operational and even at the diplomatic level," Ruto added.
The file photo shows Kenya Defence Forces soldiers attending a parade at the Kenya Army Embakasi Barracks in Nairobi, capital of Kenya, June 15, 2021. (Photo by Fred Mutune/Xinhua)
Ruto observed that at the bare minimum, every society deserves the opportunity to experience peace and safety, and every nation desires to guarantee its people that dividend of security and stability.
"Without peace, human freedom is in jeopardy. Without stability, all potential is deferred in perpetuity. And without security, opportunities remain a mirage and unattainable," he said without stating the number of soldiers dispatched to DRC.
The Kenyan leader added that the DRC's state of insecurity is of tremendous concern to humanity as well as the region and thus the deployment of a regional force in pursuit of peace and the activation of the EAC regional force to forestall conflict is therefore legitimate, urgent and necessary.
Robert Kibochi, chief of the Kenya Defense Forces said that Kenyan troops will partner with the DRC to continue to provide humanitarian relief to populations affected by armed groups, including internally displaced persons.
Kibochi noted that the Kenyan contingent will also jointly plan and conduct operations within the eastern DRC to contain the threats of the armed groups. ■
