The new commander of the MONUSCO force in the DRC, Lieutenant-General Miranda Filho, went for the first time to Bunia, capital of Ituri, a province confronted with massacres and violence perpetrated by armed groups. This high-profile move is part of the cooperation between the FARDC and MONUSCO aimed at protecting civilians against attacks by armed groups.
General Miranda Filho thus affirmed that his mission in Ituri was to ensure the security of the population, but that he could not specify the planned operations. He also indicated that the cooperation between the FARDC and MONUSCO was good and that they were working together to ensure a transition so that the FARDC would be able to continue operations after the departure of MONUSCO.
Lieutenant-General Luboya N’kashama, Military Governor and Commander of Operations in Ituri, maintained that his expectation in joint military operations with MONUSCO was very positive. He welcomed the visit of the new commander of MONUSCO and called for a resumption of operations to counter all armed groups, local and foreign.
Governor N’kashama also stressed that the intra-community dialogue already initiated would be organized this time in Aru territory. This dialogue aims to show that living in peace is possible, in order to convince others to renounce war.
In addition, the new commander of the MONUSCO force in the DRC has planned to visit Ugandan troops deployed in southern Irumu as part of the pooling of forces to track down ADF/MTM.
This visit is of an important moment in the consolidation of peace in the DRC, and it is hoped that the joint operations between FARDC and MONUSCO will make it possible to reduce the insecurity which prevails in Ituri and in other provinces of the country.