South Sudan withdraws troops from Congo

Juba, Dec 11 : South Sudan has withdrawn its peacekeeping forces in eastern Congo.

Lul Ruai Koang, the spokesperson of the South Sudan Peoples Defence Forces, told Xinhua news agency on Sunday in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, that all the forces that had been deployed in December 2022, as part of the East African Community Regional Force, have been withdrawn from the North Kivu region of Congo.

The withdrawal of the South Sudanese troops came after the East African Community announced on November 25 that Congo would not renew the mandate of the regional force beyond December 8, Xinhua news agency reported.

Since November 2022, this regional force, consisting of Kenyan, Ugandan, Burundian and South Sudanese elements, has been stationed in the eastern part of Congo in response to conflicts between the Congolese military and the March 23 Movement rebels.

int/khz