Kenyan Troops Arrive DR Congo As Part Of Peacekeeping Mission

Kenyan soldiers have landed in the city of Goma in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as part of a regional peacekeeping mission to the region.

Their arrival on Saturday comes as the M23 rebel group has surged across the DRC’s North Kivu province, capturing swaths of territory and inflaming regional tensions.

This week, Kenya’s Parliament approved the deployment of about 900 soldiers to the DRC as part of a joint military force from the East African Community (EAC) bloc.

Al Jazeera said two Kenyan transport planes have arrived and about 60 soldiers disembarked.

More than 120 armed groups are active in the DRC’s volatile east, many of which are a legacy of regional wars which flared at the turn of the century.

Diplomatic efforts are underway to ease tensions in the eastern DRC. Angolan President Joao Lourenco visited Rwanda on Friday and was due in the DRC on Saturday.

Kenya’s former President Uhuru Kenyatta is also expected in the DRC’s capital for talks on Sunday.