More troops to the DRC

Zimbabwe deployed an additional 3,000 troops to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) last week, booting its military commitment to an estimated 11,000 soldiers, the ‘New Financial Gazette’ reported on Thursday. The independent weekly quoted Defence Minister Movan Mahachi as acknowledging the force increase but refusing to divulge how many troops had been sent. The newspaper, citing military sources, said the fresh troops were new recruits that had just completed a six-month training stint. Meanwhile, on the DRC government’s funding of Zimbabwe’s military intervention, the paper reported Finance Minister Herbert Murerwa as saying that Kinshasa “could contribute much more than they are contributing at the moment.”