Zimbabwe strengthens Katanga troop presence

The Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) is reported to be deploying more troops on the southern front in the DRC, in the southeastern province of Katanga, in order to stem a joint advance by the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA) and the Congolese rebel Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD). The ‘Zimbabwe Independent’ has reported that the 1.1 Infantry Battalion of the ZDF, numbering some 1,000 troops, had been sent to Katanga to strengthen the Kinshasa-allied forces after the loss of Pweto and Pepa early last month. Zimbabwe was also understood to have deployed paratroopers from its specialised Parachute Group to reinforce the ‘allied forces’. However, Zimbabwe faced difficulty hiring Russian and Ukrainian planes to transport its troops to and from the Congo due to foreign currency shortages, the ‘Independent’ reported. The ZDF did not have its own planes capable of ferrying a full company, it added. Some 300 ZDF troops were among thousands of allied soldiers who fled south into Zambia in the face of the RPA/RCD advance.