DR Congo slams regional forces for colliding with rebels

President Félix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo Thursday accused the regional forces deployed in the east of the central African country for cohabitation, except Burundi.

Soldiers from Kenya, South Sudan, Uganda and Burundi have been deployed by the East African Community (EAC) in the east of Congo to back the local army struggling with dozens of rebel groups including M23.

Speaking in Beijing (China) to the Congolese diaspora, Tshisekedi slammed the intervening countries expect Burundi, Anadolu news agency reports.

“There is a kind of collaboration between the East African Community force and the M23 rebels or terrorists, with the exception of the Burundian contingent, which is applying the agreements as they were intended, in the true sense of the word,” he said.

“One example is the intervention of the Burundians when the M23 terrorists began illegally levying taxes in the territories they occupied,” he insisted. “As for the other armies, cohabitation continues with the M23.”

Tshisekedi also revealed that he has turned to Southern African countries to send troops to the east of the country. DR Congo has been engulfed in an open-ended conflict with rebels in the east awash with rich natural resources. Several months ago, local people in the restive region had clashed with police as they demanded the departure of the regional contingents that they accused of cohabitation with the rebels.

DR Congo has repeatedly finger-pointed neighboring Rwanda for backing M23 but Kigali has vehemently denied any wrongdoing. The U.S. and France have also thrown their support behind Kinshasa.