The M23 Movement, an armed group, located in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, welcomed the decision by President William Ruto to deploy KDF troops to the war-torn DRC.
In a statement sent to media houses on Friday, November 4, political spokesperson, Lawrence Kanyuka stated that KDF's peacekeeping mission would aid in resolving the conflict between the rebels and the DRC forces.
M23 also blamed DRC President Felix Tshisekedi for the violence in the region.
“The M23 expresses its gratitude yet again to the Republic of Kenya and its people for the recent DRC peace process held in Nairobi," read the statement in part.
“Those who have the habit and profession of (killing civilians) daily are the allies of the DRC government in the war against the M23 Movement as proven in the latest published Human Rights Watch Report,” the statement added.
Human Rights Watch had accused M23 Movement of summarily killing 29 residents in the last five months, a claim that the militia group denied arguing that it never targeted civilian populations.
The statement by M23 Movement came hours after Kenyan MPs raised questions on the legality of the decision by the president to deploy troops to DRC without parliamentary approval.
Tiaty Constituency Member of Parliament, William Kamket, Thursday, November 3, rose on the point of order questioning the sequence of events that led to KDF's deployment.
Kamket indicated that the letter from Defence Cabinet Secretary, Aden Duale, arrived in Parliament on Wednesday afternoon, November 2, while President Ruto commissioned the troops to DRC the day before.
He cited Article 240 (8) of the Kenyan Constitution, which requires the National Security Council to deploy troops outside Kenya for peace support operations with the approval of the National Assembly.
Kenya will command the force, including soldiers from Burundi, Uganda and South Sudan after leaders of the East African Community (EAC) agreed to establish a joint force to help restore security in DRC.
