The DR Congo Armed Forces (FARDC) Chief of General Staff, Gen. Célestin Mbala Munsense, on Wednesday, November 10, began an official visit to Rwanda where he is holding discussions centered on the regional security situation and the fight against terrorist groups, with his Rwandan counterparts.
The DR Congo Armed Forces (FARDC) Chief of General Staff, Gen. Célestin Mbala Munsense, on Wednesday, November 10, began an official visit to Rwanda. He is holding discussions centered on the regional security situation and the fight against terrorist groups, with his Rwandan counterparts.
Gen Mbala and his delegation on Wednesday held bilateral discussions with the Rwanda Defence Force Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Jean-Bosco Kazura at RDF Headquarters, Kimihurura.
“Our delegation is here to discuss a framework of plans established with our neighboring countries in dealing with terrorist groups and other transnational threats. This conforms with recommendations from the African Union to combine effort in fighting threats that hinder our collective development,” Gen Mbala said.
Gen Mbala added that the discussions also looked at mutual efforts to prevent negative forces operating “along our borders in a bid to strengthen our relationships towards the mutual development of our people.”
Gen Mbala’s visit comes two days after an armed group believed to be ex-M23 rebels, on November 7, crossed into DR Congo “from Ugandan territory where it is based, and attacked and occupied the villages of Tshanzu and Runyoni,” according to the RDF.
The RDF said that any reports, in the media or by officials in the region, that the ex-M23 armed group originated from or retreated to Rwanda, is propaganda aimed at undermining the good relations between Rwanda and DRC.
On the allegations that M23 elements conducted an attack on DR Congo territory from Rwanda and Uganda, Gen Mbala said: “We have opted to give time to the Expanded Joint Verification Mechanism (EJVM) to do its work and give us precisions on the situation.”
The two villages, Tshanzu and Runyoni, were the last redoubts of the M23 before they were chased by Congolese and UN forces into Uganda and Rwanda, in 2013.
