It is in clear and precise terms that the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of DRC wanted to clarify things regarding the deployment of the Angolan army on Congolese soil.
Without going by the back of the spoon, Christophe Lutundula who co-hosted a briefing with his colleague from communication and media, said that the elements of the Angolan force do not have an offensive mandate.
“The Angolan army does not come to attack. It is therefore not an offensive mandate. Things need to be clear at this level. We should avoid misleading public opinion,” he said.
For the Patron of Congolese diplomacy, the Angolan army arrives in the east by the will of President Joao Lourenço who had already seized the other heads of state in the region to announce this deployment.
“Remember that the President of Angola had been instructed to notify the M23 of different decisions of Heads of State. It is in this context that his army will be deployed in the east. It will not be to fight, but to ensure that the decisions of the heads of state are indeed respected”, explained the VPM in charge of foreign affairs.
It will therefore be to ensure the implementation of the withdrawal plan of these rebels, informed Lutundula, Angolan President João Lourenço had been responsible for notifying the M23 authorities about the decisions taken at the extraordinary summit in Addis Ababa.
In his words, Christophe Lutundula recalled the determination of the President of the Republic to put an end once and for all to the war in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
