On Wednesday, a contingent of 1,000 troops left Uganda for the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Ugandan troops will be part of the regional East African Community force, which also includes Burundi and Kenya.
Hundreds of people from both Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo attended the flag-off ceremony.
Colonel Michael Hairoba leads Uganda’s delegation. “We are going as ambassadors of peace in Congo,” he said during his speech at the ceremony.
We are prepared, trained, and ready for the task.”
The East African Community force is meant to contain M23 rebels who started attacks on Congo army positions in June last year and occupied several areas.
Formed in 2012, the group attacked Congo and was overpowered by government troops. It had stopped attacks until last year.
