The first wave of South Sudanese soldiers arrived in Goma, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s east on Sunday.
The group of at least 45 soldiers is joining a regional military force in the M23-ravaged region.
Last June, the East African Community (EAC) armed force of seven nations was established. It will be in charge of overseeing the evacuation of M23 rebels from eastern DRC.
Several armed groups afflict much of the region, a legacy of regional battles that erupted in the 1990s and 2000s.
M23 rebels have conquered swaths of territory in North Kivu province and reached within a few dozen kilometers of its capital Goma since resurfacing in late 2021.
Numerous regional measures, including as ceasefires, aimed at defusing the war have failed to materialize.
March 30 was supposed to mark the end of the withdrawal of “all armed groups”, according to a timetable adopted in mid-February by the EAC.
