Internal Dynamics

In September 2023 President Felix Tshisekedi reiterated his demand to see the withdrawal of some peacekeeping missions notably MONUSCO and East African Community Regional Force (EACRF), from the country. His call which did not come as a surprise (because for the past weeks, the population in the war zones have been protesting against their presence), did however raised a series of questions. One of such questions is how ready are the Congolese stakeholders to take full responsibility of the situation after the departure of the peacekeeping missions. 
Officially, the Congolese military and security service personnel strengths known as the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC), is estimated at 100,000 active troops (80,000 Army; 7,000 Navy; 2,000 Air Force; 10,000 Republican Guard) according to government statistics. The FARDC is equipped mostly with a mix of second-hand Russian and Soviet-era weapons acquired from Ukraine and other former Warsaw Pact nations, as well as some equipment provided by Brazil and France. Most of these equipment was acquired between 1970 and 2000; since 2010. 
To be up to task, the various facets of the military have to be fully trained and equipped with modern weapons capable of withstanding assaults from the over 120 armed groups that have been terrorizing the northern part of the country. To this, Kinshasa authorities say its army is growing in strength and they have speeded up the recruitment and training of new soldiers. More than 12,000 young people have recently been recruited ...