The East African Community (EAC) reaction force (RF) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is presently in a transition phase ahead of “planned deployment of Southern African Development Community (SADC) troops” according to the Kenyan Ministry of Defence.

The transition is underway with the EAC force exit that started on December 8 and is set for completion  January 7, 2024. As per a reported decision by EAC chiefs of defence forces, following an EAC exit plan report by a defence experts working group, the withdrawal will be done in three phases over the four-week period. The working group recommended FARDC (Forces Armées de la République Démocratique du Congo) move into EAC RF positions.

The Kenyan contingent will exit eastern DRC in “an orderly manner” during the transition, Deputy Kenya Army Commander, Major General David Tarus, said as he when welcomed Kenyan troops at the Embakasi Garrison in Nairobi.

Ahead of the withdrawal, Kenyan Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), General Francis Ogalla, addressed Kenyan troops stationed at Kibumba forward operating base (FOB) in Goma and the Kibati logistics base in North Kivu’s Nyiragongo territory.

The Kenyan contingent of the EAC RF first deployed into eastern DRC in November 2022 and racked up a number of successes, according to the Ministry of Defence. These include preventing an “imminent threat” to Goma airport and enabling an M23 withdrawal from “areas close to Goma”. This led to a short-lived DRC/M23 ceasefire. The achievements, Ogalla said, were a credit to the military strategy of deterrence through “presence, posture and engaging local communities”.

The East African Community deployed a regional force for the first time into eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 2022. Just over a year later, the troops have started withdrawing amid tension with the host state.

Asked to explain the withdrawal, Jenna Russo, who has covered the conflict and interventions in the DRC for more than a decade, said the host country was uncomfortable with some EAC governments that have been accused of profiting from the conflict.

What was the mandate of the East African Community’s intervention in the DRC?

The July 2022 decision to deploy an East African Community Regional Force to eastern DRC was prompted by renewed violence from the armed group, March 23 or M23.

However, the scope of the force’s mandate has been a point of contention between the East African Community and the Congolese government. According to the regional bloc, the regional force was to oversee the withdrawal of armed groups – including M23 – from areas in eastern DRC. There are estimated to be more than 120 armed groups in this region. It was also to ensure that a ceasefire negotiated in December 2022 was observed.

The Congolese government wanted a more assertive posture, but the regional force has refused to engage in offensive operations.

It’s not clear how the two parties came to interpret the force’s mandate so differently, and this has been a major point of contention throughout its deployment.

What were the force’s challenges and achievements?

It’s much easier to speak of the force’s challenges than its achievements, which have been limited. It did experience some early victories, in particular the December 2022 ceasefire that included 53 armed groups. However, these and other efforts have been largely ineffective, with violence growing over the past year. And M23, the principal target of the intervention, has taken over new areas in the eastern region, including some where the east African troops were stationed.

• A Tell report