But will we have peace in eastern Congo now? Supposedly, about all of the FDLR (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda) and LRA (Lord Resistance Army) were neutralized during the joint operations. Therefore, the troublemakers in eastern Congo should be out of commission.
DR Congo says foreign troops to pull back in February
Rwanda, Uganda and southern Sudan will withdraw their troops from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) next week after joint operations against insurgency in the war-torn central African country, the government announced here on Saturday.
Communication Minister Lambert Mende told reporters that Rwandan troops are set to leave on Feb. 25 and Ugandan and Sudanese soldiers on Feb. 28, adding a solemn ceremony will be held in their honor before departure.
This is the first time that the government has given a definite date for the pullout of foreign troops from its territory, although officials have repeatedly said they want them out by the end of the month among the jittering of Congolese.
Mende praised the three-nation cooperation against their common enemies, saying coalition forces have neutralized 90 percent of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda ( FDLR) in the eastern province of North Kivu and 80 percent of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in Orientale Province.
FDLR is the Rwandan Hutu rebel group linked to the 1994 Massacre in Rwanda. It has been a root cause of DR Congo's internal conflicts and external tensions with Rwanda since its elements fled into North Kivu.
LRA, the notorious Ugandan rebel group, has been holed up in DR Congo in recent years. It has waged one of the longest guerrilla wars in Africa since 1986, roaming between Uganda, Sudan, DR Congo and Central African Republic.