The defense ministers of the East African Community (EAC) at a summit in Kenya encouraged the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to renew the group's peacekeeping mission in the Central African country, Kenya's Defense Minister Aden Duale said in a statement.
According to the minister, the extension of the mission will contribute to stepping up peace efforts and cementing the bloc's successes in the country.
"To galvanize the peace efforts, we recommended that the government of DRC consider extending the EACRF mandate beyond the September 8th deadline to safeguard the gains made by the Regional Force," Duale said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The Kenyan Defense chief emphasized that the DRC is Nairobi's core investment partner, hence the need for "our active presence in finding long-lasting peace." Duale added that his country emphasizes the commitment to countering terrorism and extremism, both in Kenya and in the region as a whole.
Besides the Kenyan Defense Minister, the summit was attended by his counterparts from Burundi, the DRC, Rwanda, Tanzania, South Sudan and Uganda.
The EACRF contingent was first deployed to the DRC last November. Since then, the bloc's mandate has been extended in June until September 8.
Subsequently, DRC President Felix Tshisekedi urged regional forces to take a more aggressive and decisive approach to fighting the M23 rebels.
The EAC's operations in the country will be complemented by those of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which in mid-August approved the deployment of troops to "restore peace and security" in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Security in the east of the country has become a growing concern for the DRC in recent years due to the M23 ("March 23 Movement") rebels' widespread anti-government campaign.