By Spy Uganda Correspondent
China and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) agreed to step up military cooperation as Chinese State Councilor and Minister of National Defense Li Shangfu and DRC Vice Prime Minister and Defense Minister Jean-Pierre Bemba met in Beijing.
The two countries have just upgraded their ties to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, Li said, speaking highly of bilateral military cooperation in various sectors.
Li also assured China’s support for the DRC in national defense and military development.
For his part, Bemba expressed that the friendship between the armies of both countries is growing stronger and affirmed the DRC’s willingness to continue military cooperation with China.
This meeting between the two defense ministers took place during DRC President Felix Tshisekedi’s state visit to China.
For nearly 30 years various armed groups have exploited the absence or weakness of state authority in eastern DRC to perpetrate attacks against civilians. Rampant impunity and competition for control of profitable minerals have enabled the proliferation of armed groups.
Congo faces security crisis and attacks by armed groups and recurring inter-communal violence have threatened populations in the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for nearly 30 years.
More than 120 militias and armed groups actively operate in the eastern provinces, many of whom regularly perpetrate widespread violations and abuses that may amount to atrocity crimes. For example, between April 2019 – April 2022 the UN Joint Human Rights Office in the DRC (UNJHRO) documented at least 3,126 cases of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment perpetrated by armed groups and the defense and security forces, with 93 percent of these incidents occurring in the eastern provinces.
According to the UN Refugee Agency, at least 5.97 million Congolese are internally displaced, the vast majority of whom have fled violence in the east.
