Kenyans in DRC should consider evacuation, warns Mudavadi

Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi. [File, Standard]

Kenya has urged its citizens in the Democratic Republic of Congo to exercise extreme caution and consider evacuation as conflict intensifies in the country.

Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi said Kenya remains deeply concerned about the escalating violence between security forces and M23 militants, which has spread beyond the eastern region near the Rwandan border.

"We are requesting Kenyans in DRC to take extreme caution of their security situation, and where necessary consider possible evacuation, especially from volatile regions," said Mudavadi.

The government is considering evacuation plans for those seeking assistance, directing them to contact Kenya's consulate in Goma or temporary offices in Congo Brazzaville.

The advisory follows attacks on Kenya's Embassy in Kinshasa by a mob protesting the ongoing violence. On January 28, the government condemned the attack, citing concerns over the safety of its diplomatic personnel.

Mudavadi's call comes even as the United Nations warns that M23 advances threaten regional conflict in eastern DRC. Fears of regional conflict are growing as M23 captures cities in eastern DRC, prompting UN concern over strategic advances.

The M23 armed group is advancing on strategic zones in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) after taking two key cities, the United Nations warned, underscoring the threat of a regional conflict.

Recent weeks have seen the rapid progression of the Rwanda-backed M23, which has seized vast tracts of the eastern DRC, including Goma and Bukavu.

Mudavadi called for an immediate ceasefire in line with resolutions from the East African Community and Southern African Development Community high-level meeting in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Kenya has maintained that diplomatic efforts must be prioritised to restore stability in the region.