A first group of around 100 Kenyan soldiers from the force – which also includes Ugandan, Burundian, and South Sudanese soldiers – left the region from Goma airport bound for Nairobi, according to an EAC-RF spokesman on the ground who did not provide more detail on further withdrawals.

Their plane took off shortly after 5am local time.

The East African Community (EAC) first deployed troops in the violence-plagued region in November last year after the resurgence of the M23 rebel group.

At the time, the Congolese authorities invited the EAC to deploy its forces to free the areas conquered by the rebels.

However, the future of the deployment was thrown into doubt after the DR Congo’s president Felix Tshisekedi accused the force of co-habiting with the rebels rather than forcing them to lay down arms.

Following an EAC summit on 25 Nov, the East African Community announced that the DRC “would not renew the mandate of the regional force beyond 8 Dec, 2023”.