A joint mission made up of representatives from Human Rights, Civil Affairs, Strategic Communication and Public Information sections as well as member units of the Mission Support Office visited Eringeti, Bambuba-Kisiki grouping, on Saturday, February 12, 60 km north of the city of Beni.

The objective, said the deputy head of MONUSCO office in Beni-Butembo-Lubero, leading the delegation, is to "thank the local chiefs and the populations who have made a land available to MONUSCO for the construction of its new base, encouraging the South African contingent that recently came in on its mission to protect civilians; they inter alia, interacted with the population, assessing their security situation, and reflected with them on a dedicated mechanism for an effective protection".

The Eringeti agglomeration enjoyed a relative calm which allowed the populations, on long displacement, to return home and resume a normal life. However, since late 2021, with the ongoing military operations, the hard-pressed ADF rebels have been attacking isolated civilians during their flight, thereby pushing people to seek refuge again in areas deemed safer.

The security issue in the region had led Monusco to take the lead by planning the opening of a base in this area a few months ago. Today, the Eringeti base is operational, with the South African peacekeepers who have been entrusted the task of ensuring the protection of civilians, in line with MONUSCO’s mandate.

All of them said they have received a warm welcome from the population and local leaders "who have been collaborating with them without any problem", underscored Major Chochoe, the base commander.

The local populations, represented by the civil society said, in spite of some inter-communal conflicts mainly caused by insecurity and unemployment, pushing young people to join armed groups, there is now hope with the presence of MONUSCO.

This is what the Bambuba-Kisiki youth leader, Germain Kakule Vutsarana, declared: "MONUSCO’s presence has brought us hope and cohesion has further been strengthened between the base and us as a result of the good collaboration. We want MONUSCO to redouble its efforts to strengthen security in the area,” he said. The deputy head of office, Abdourahamane Ganda, responded to this concern, indicating "the security system put in place through this new base will undoubtedly help to improve the security situation".