East African Community Regional Force (EACRF) will have left the territory of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) entirely by January 8, 2024, allowing local authorities to secure the troubled east.
This week, military chiefs from the EAC troop-contributing countries met in Arusha to assess the departure programme after their mandate
ended formally on December 8. They agreed for a month-long drawdown, hoping for an official handover to incoming troops from the Southern Africa Development Cooperation (SADC).
But the smooth departure was already being hurt this week as violence continued, with uncertainty on the arrival date of the SADC troops. According to a statement from the EAC on Friday, the drawdown will be staggered until January 7.
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