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Politics

Crisis in Congo Tests First Military Deployment by East African Economic Bloc

  • Kenyan President William Ruto sends troops to eastern Congo
  • Tensions between Congo, Rwanda escalating amid rebel clashes
Kenya Defence Forces as part of the East Africa Community Regional Force in Nairobi on Nov. 2

Kenya Defence Forces as part of the East Africa Community Regional Force in Nairobi on Nov. 2

Photographer: Tony Karumba/AFP/Getty Images

An East African Community military force began a peace-keeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the bloc’s first deployment in a member state as it looks to prevent unrest in the country from mushrooming into a war. 

President William Ruto of Kenya, which is leading the mission, flagged off hundreds of troops on Wednesday as they left for the mineral-rich eastern Congo area.