Nearly 1,000 Burundian soldiers have left the Democratic Republic of Congo as part of a phased withdrawal by a regional force after Kinshasa refused to extend its mandate, the Burundian military said on Monday.
The seven-nation East African Community (EAC) first deployed troops in the violence-plagued east of the DR Congo in November 2022, at the invitation of the country's authorities, to free areas taken by the resurgent M23 rebel group.
