DRC's Mukwege criticizes Tshisekedi's handling of security in east

Congolese doctor Denis Mukwege, 2018 Nobel Peace Prize winner Denis Mukwege, expressed fears Wednesday about the security situation in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, saying President Felix Tshisekedi's "diplomacy" is contributing to "worsening instability."

"The regional diplomacy of the president of the DRC is objectively leading us towards a prolongation and aggravation of the instability" in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri, Mukwege said quoted in a statement.

Dr. Mukwege made the statement after "the announcement of the deployment of the regional force of the Community of East African States (EAC)" in eastern DRC, where more than 100 armed groups are active.

"We are very circumspect" that beyond the partnership with the United Nations Mission in the DRC (Monusco) "the President of the Republic has been engaged in bilateral military cooperation with Uganda for 6 months and, more recently, in a project of regional military cooperation with the member states of the EAC," he added.

For Dr. Mukwege, the "already difficult and ineffective" superposition of these different forces in the DRC "looks like a chronicle of predicted chaos.

In mid-June, like many inhabitants of eastern Congo, Dr. Mukwege expressed his opposition to the deployment of a "regional force composed of countries at the root of destabilization, atrocities and the looting of our resources," he wrote.

In April, the DRC joined Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and South Sudan in the EAC.

Fundamental questions about the rules of engagement of the new regional force, its mandate, objectives, duration or political and legal responsibilities "are only opaquely answered" because these agreements have been "not very transparent," Mukwege added.

For him, "the profound reform of the FARDC (Congolese army), the security services and the fight against impunity are the most appropriate measures to ensure pacification and lasting stability in the eastern DRC.

Congolese gynecologist, Denis Mukwege was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2018 for his work on behalf of women victims of rape used as weapons of war in the eastern DRC for nearly 30 years.