Special forces drawn from the Kenya Defence Forces’ Quick Reaction Force were on Tuesday, January 31, called into action in their peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
According to a statement shared by KDF, the special forces intervened to rescue a village that was under attack from the insurgents in the country.
The officers, reportedly, were on their routine area-dominating patrols in the Eastern DRC village when they heard gunshots renting the air from a distance.
Kenya Defence Forces officers perform first aid on an injured civilian in the DRC.
KDF
The officers, who are serving under the United Nations (UN) blue helmet team, reacted swiftly to assess the situation from the origin of the shots.
Upon making it to the location, the officers were met with a horrific sight where civilians were under attack from gunmen. They, according to the statement, found a number of civilians had been killed by the attackers.
The KDF officers launched an offensive against the gunmen suspected to be part of the Allied Defence Forces (ADF) in a bid to repulse them. Upon quelling the threat, the soldiers rushed to rescue a woman and her baby who had been injured by the insurgents.
“The patrol managed to repel the attackers, administered first aid to the injured mother and her infant and thereafter transferred them to a local health centre for specialized treatment,” the statement read in part.
In the statement, KDF affirmed that the protection of civilians would remain to be its paramount mandate in their peacekeeping role at the DRC.
The Kenyan Quick Reaction Force has since intensified patrols in the area to deny ADF freedom of movement and insurgent activities in the region.
On Tuesday, former President and the Facilitator of the Nairobi Peace Keeping Mission Uhuru Kenyatta was forced to convene an urgent meeting in Nairobi in an attempt aimed at resolving the dispute.
Fighting between the government and the rebels erupted to break the cease-fire agreement reached by both parties in an earlier summit.
Meanwhile, the tension between the Congolese government and the neighbouring nation of Rwanda continued to escalate hence complicating the situation.
Retired President Uhuru Kenyatta (in white shirt) poses for a photo with representatives of the DRC rebel groups and those from the government after a meeting held on January 31, 2023, in Nairobi.
Office of the 4th President
Discussion about this post