French military troops stationed in DR Congo, monitoring the region amid ongoing security concerns.
France has confirmed that its soldiers are stationed in Kisangani in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but only as part of a temporary training mission requested by the Congolese government. The deployment, which runs through March, falls under a 2021 military cooperation agreement and focuses on equipping specialized jungle battalions within the Congolese armed forces with the skills to operate in the country’s vast forest terrain. Under the program, four units of about 800 troops each have so far been trained in combat tactics, bomb disposal, and emergency care, with some already involved in fighting armed groups in eastern Congo. The clarification followed online speculation sparked by photos of French troops in uniform in Kisangani. Meanwhile, Belgian forces are running a separate EU-funded training program nearby.
RFI