Africa-Press – Lesotho. Five officers from the Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) are set to be deployed to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) “to help with logistics” as the region gears up for a fight against M23 rebels. Foreign Affairs Minister Lejone Mpotjoane told parliament on Monday that the officers are expected to be in the DRC by November 30.
He however did not address swirling rumours that the officers are actually being sent to prepare for a larger LDF contingent that the government allegedly agreed to deploy during the SADC summit in Angola earlier this month.
The March 23 Movement, often abbreviated as M23 and also known as the Congolese Revolutionary Army, is a rebel military group that is mostly made up ethnic Tutsis.
It is composed of former members of the rebel National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP), and allegedly sponsored by the governments of the neighbouring states of Rwanda and Uganda.
Rwanda and Uganda have both denied the charges. The M23’s gripe is that the DRC government reneged on its promise of March 23, 2009 of making CNDC part of the national defence force.
The rebels ended up taking up arms against the national army and causing atrocities that led to neighbouring countries like Rwanda intervening. Mpotjoane said the decision was reached at the Angola SADC extraordinary meeting of heads of state where the issue of the M23 rebels was a thorny part of the agenda.
Mpotjoane told parliament that the extraordinary meeting agenda was the issue of volatile security in Africa. “The security in the Democratic Republic of Congo is very much at risk,” Mpotjoane said.
He said the main problem is the M23 rebels who continue to wreak havoc all over the country by killing innocent children and women. “They are causing instability in that country,” he said.
He also said their meeting received reports that the instability of the DRC might soon affect its neighbouring countries. “The attacks have destabilised (or displaced) three million citizens,” he said.
He added that the three million people will not be able to register for the upcoming general elections next month. He said the Eastern African Regional Force’s mandate will be coming to an end soon.
“The United Nations Organisation Mission in the DRC will also withdraw its forces starting from December,” he said, justifying why SADC has to send troops.
Mpotjoane said the expectation is for the UN mission to be fully withdrawn in December next year as they are doing a phased withdrawal. He said due to the security situation in DRC, “SADC had to make a decision quickly on how to fill the gap that would be left by the withdrawing forces”.
“That force is expected to commence work on the 30th November 2023.
” He said as a way to reach their goals all the SADC countries have to play a role in ensuring that the mission succeeds.
He said that Lesotho will send five staff officers to help with the administration of the forces in the DRC. “We will help to build the head office there,” he said.
A Democratic Congress (DC) backbencher, Tšitso Cheba, said when other countries are experiencing wars, “Lesotho should be careful so that such things do not happen here”.
“Are you not afraid of what you see in those countries?” Cheba asked Mpotjoane. He said Lesotho is experiencing lawlessness “where the security agencies’ chiefs disregard the laws of the country”.
“They made a statement recently, we see signs of lawlessness,” he said, recalling the security bosses’ statement that the MPs could not vote out Prime Minister Sam Matekane under their watch.
Mpotjoane responded that the question would be answered by the defence minister, not him. The All Basotho Convention (ABC) deputy leader, Dr Pinkie Manamolela, commented that “Africa is sinking into turmoil as many countries are going through excruciating wars”.
“There is no peace in the world, we must work for it and retain it,” Dr Manamolela said.
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