The United Nations Security Council's deadline for the UN Peacekeeping mission (MONUSCO) and Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) troops (FARDC) to launch military operations against Rwandan refugees in Eastern DRC has expired today, January 2, 2015. Based on the mandate, MONUSCO could launch military operations anytime, starting today. But, according to sources within MONUSCO, the DRC government and those close to SADC and ICGLR, what is on paper is not necessarily easy to implement. That is why, beginning Monday December 29, 2014, meetings among diplomats from the United Nations (UN), the European Union (EU), SADC, ICGLR, and DRC government officials, including top military leaders have been Held in Goma to devise a followup strategy. According to sources in Goma and within MONUSCO, three options are on the table:
Europe
Rwandan Rebels, FDLR-FOCA, Disarm Some of Their Troops. What’s Next?
As reported on May 20, 2014 by AfroAmerica Network, based on information provided by sources close to South African Development Community (SADC), one of the Rwandan rebels groups based in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), known as Forces Democratic de Liberation du Rwanda -Forces Combattantes Abacunguzi (FDLR-FOCA), has disarmed some of its troops (see our previous article here).