Manama - The First Vice-Speaker of the parliament of the Democratic Republic of Congo, André Mbata, thanked on Monday the support, dedication and commitment of Angola to the pacification process of the eastern region.
André Mbata, who was speaking to the Angolan press at the end of a meeting with the Speaker of the National Assembly of Angola, Carolina Cerqueira, said that the Angolan support is being essential for the pacification process in the east of his country, highlighting the direct intervention of President João Lourenço.
The DR Congo parliamentarian also expressed satisfaction for the fact that Angola is sending a military contingent to ensure the supervision of the cantonment process of the M23 soldiers, as well as the safety of local populations.
"Angola is demonstrating that it is with the people of the DRC, and it is indeed concerned with peace in the DRC. And this demonstration, made with actions, satisfies the desire of the Congolese people, because it will help pacify the eastern region", he said.
Angola announced, on Saturday, the sending of a unit of a Contingent of Support to the Peacekeeping Operations of the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The information released on the official page of the Presidency of the Republic, on the social network Facebook, said that the unit's main objective is to ensure the cantonment areas for the M23 elements and to protect the members of the Ad Hoc Verification Mechanism.
Angola took the initiative to inform the leaders of the region about this consultation, within the framework of coordination between the Luanda and Nairobi Processes, as well as the United Nations, the African Union and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS).
The deployment of the FAA Peacekeeping Operations Support Contingent unit is part of the decisions taken by the different mini-summits on the peace and security process in DRC, in accordance with Angola's responsibilities as a mediator.
The Angolan Head of State, João Lourenço, chairs the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) and is also the African Union (AU) mediator in the crisis between Rwanda and DRC.
