South Sudan People's Defense Force Battalion flagged off for a regional peacekeeping operation in 2022 (Photo: Lou Nelson/Eye Radio).

The head of the East African Civil Society Organizations Forum said he welcomes the “timely” withdrawal of the EAC regional peacekeeping force that were recently expelled from the volatile eastern DR Congo.

The EACRF began withdrawal on Sunday morning, starting with the departure of about 100 combatants in a flight to Kenya, following Kinshasa’s refusal to renew its mandate.

Edmund Yakani, also the Executive Director of Community Empowerment for Progress Organization backed the troops departure over their alleged lack of clearly defined mandate and double standard among troops-contributing countries.

“The practice of the double standards in Eastern DRC offers no opportunity for stabilization of the political economy of Eastern DRC,” Yakani said in a press statement.

Mr. Yakani is urging President Kiir, who recently assumed EAC chairmanship to “commission genuine inclusive political approach to the political crisis in Eastern DRC including peace and security agenda for EAC.”

“For Eastern DRC, there is need to engage stakeholders at the center of the process for seeking durable solutions. This requires President Salva Kiir to approach the head of the states of EAC members’ states that have double standards in Eastern DRC to disengage from the double standards practices.”

The activist further suggested holding strategic dialogue on regional peace and security as one of the top priorities of President Kiir during his EAC tenure.

The regional bloc first deployed troops in the violence-plagued region in November last year after the resurgence of the M23 rebel group.

This comes after DRC authorities called for military help to liberate the areas taken by the rebels.

But the future of the deployment was thrown into doubt after DR Congo President Felix Tshisekedi accused the force of cohabiting with the rebels rather than forcing them to lay down arms.

Following a summit on 25 November, the EAC announced that the DRC “would not renew the mandate of the regional force beyond 8 December 2023”.

At the same time, DRC signed an agreement on the status of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) force that will replace departing EAC Regional Force.