Lieutenant-General Christian Tshiwewe, Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo “FARDC”, briefly visited Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, on Friday 7 April 2023.

As soon as he arrived, the army commander chaired a security meeting.

In an interview with the press, the military governor of Ituri suggested that the reason for the presence of his chief in Ituri was part of his mission to command and control the armed forces.

Several FARDC general officers were in the suite of the army’s number one, including Major General Shiko Tshitambwe (Deputy Chief of Staff in charge of operations), Lieutenant-General Constant Ndima (Military Governor of the province of North Kivu), Major General Maloba Robert (Commander of the operational sector Sokola 1 Grand Nord based in Beni) and the Commander of the joint FARDC-UPDF (Congolese and Ugandan armies) operations.

After a few hours in Bunia, the number one of the Congolese army flew to Goma in North Kivu.

This is the first time that the FARDC Chief of General Staff has arrived in Ituri since taking office.

This working visit took place in a context where insecurity has increased in the south of Irumu and in part of Mambasa, where more than 30 civilians were recently killed by ADF terrorists.

It is also worth noting that Lieutenant-General Christian Tshiwewe arrived in Bunia, 3 days after the return of the military governor of Ituri from the Congolese capital where he spent more than 16 days.