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GOMA, Congo , Nov 02 (AP) \u2014 Kenya\u2019s president said Wednesday that his country is sending more than 900 military personnel to eastern Congo to join a new regional force tasked with trying to calm deadly tensions fueled by armed groups.<\/p>\n
Kenyan President William Ruto called the mission \u201cnecessary and urgent\u201d for regional security, and said he and Congo\u2019s president had agreed on how Kenyan forces would work with Congolese and other forces on disarming rebels and peacekeeping.<\/p>\n
The Kenyan forces will be based in Goma, eastern Congo\u2019s largest city. The East African Community regional force, agreed upon by heads of state in June and led by a Kenyan commander, also has two battalions from Uganda, two from Burundi and one from South Sudan.<\/p>\n
Late Tuesday, angry crowds set fire to United Nations vehicles in Goma as frustrations mount over the advance of M23 rebels and the deteriorating security situation in the country\u2019s east.<\/p>\n
Violence by armed groups has led to a diplomatic crisis between Congo and neighboring Rwanda. Congo has accused Rwanda of supporting the rebels, which Rwanda denies while accusing Congo of backing another rebel group hostile to Rwanda.<\/p>\n
The U.N. vehicles were targeted in Goma amid false rumors that the U.N. had transported rebels, adding to the dissatisfaction many people in eastern Congo have with the efforts of a peacekeeping mission known as MONUSCO.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause of these rebels, we have fled our homes in Rugari, Kibumba,\u201d protester Kasereka Munyafura said, standing next to the truck on fire. \u201cThat is why we are angry, and we have just burnt the vehicles of MONUSCO because it makes us suffer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Earlier Tuesday, the U.N. peacekeeping mission announced a \u201cstrategic and tactical withdrawal\u201d from embattled Rumangabo. The M23 rebels have been trying to advance on the town, which houses a military base.<\/p>\n
The M23 rose to prominence more than a decade ago when its fighters seized Goma, which sits along the border with Rwanda. After a peace deal, many of M23\u2032s fighters were integrated into the national military.<\/p>\n
The group reemerged last November, saying the government had failed to live up to its decade-long promises. Over the weekend, the rebels doubled the territory they hold, seizing control of two major towns.<\/p>\n
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GOMA, Congo , Nov 02 (AP) \u2014 Kenya\u2019s president said Wednesday that his country is sending more than 900 military personnel to eastern Congo to join a new regional force tasked with trying to calm deadly tensions fueled by armed groups. Kenyan President William Ruto called the mission \u201cnecessary and urgent\u201d for regional security, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-203926","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203926","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=203926"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203926\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=203926"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=203926"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=203926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}