By Chris Muhizi for MCN.
General Gabriel Amisi Kumba, Inspector General of the FARDC, initiated an operation to regulate the number of soldiers in the country.
According to Okapi radio, Major Gerry Gwelo, said that this is the first control since the formation of the Alliance of Democratic Forces for Liberation (AFDL) in 1997: “It has been nearly 26 years since the AFDL’s inception that the true strength of our army has been unknown.”
And in order to rebuild an army, we must first understand its strength, because knowing the army’s strength allows us to plan military operations and politicians to vote on the army budget.”
According to this military officer, control within the army is decided by President Tshisekedi, the supreme commander of the army. “This is a mission sponsored by the President, who is determined to enhance and reorganize our army.”
And the Inspector General had already convened the members of the General Staff of the 3rd defensive zone as well as the North and South Kivu operating sectors; the outcome will be revealed later,” Major Gerry Gwelo added.
The initial controls had only assisted in assessing the operational capabilities of the units participating in the operational sectors for the FARDC’s General Inspection. According to him, the control mission extends across the entire national territory in defense as well as in operation.
“You are aware of everything that we are going through today; we share borders with nine neighboring countries, and our borders are porous.”
We are currently engaged in a war imposed by Rwanda, for example, thus we must organize our army to respond to any enemy wishes in order to better preserve the integrity of our national land,” says Major Gerry Gbelo.
