By Sikula
KINSHASA, June 27 (Xinhua) -- The operational capacity of armed forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) has considerably improved on various aspects in the last few years, the spokesman for the national army Gen. Leon Kasonga said over the weekend.
Kasonga made the affirmations in an exclusive interview he accorded to Xinhua during preparations for the military parade for DR Congo's Independence Day on June 30, in the presence of President Joseph Kabila.
"The army we currently have across the national territory is capable of tackling any security challenge thanks to the reforms initiated under our Commander-in-Chief, President Joseph Kabila," Kasonga said.
According to him, the reopening of all military schools and their modernization with appropriate equipments by the country's authorities had enabled the army to enhance its skills and get results on the ground.
"Thanks to the determination of our top authorities, supported by our partners, we have trained and equipped several units of our army, in accordance with our country's needs and priorities," Kasonga said.
According to the army spokesman, reforms initiated by the authorities for several years have enabled the country's army to be able to take control of the entire national territory.
"Today, I can confirm to you that no armed group controls any of our national territory. The army controls the entire national territory thanks to our human and logistical capacity," Kasonga said.
Speaking of a recent mission by the Congolese army to the Central African Republic under the UN Peacekeeping mission, Kasonga said "DR Congo army played a decisive role in restoring peace in Central African Republic's capital, Bangui."
He cited other recent victories by the army such as the defeat of the ex-M23 rebels and the dismantlement of various strongholds of Ugandan rebel group, Allied Democratic Forces, in eastern Congo.
Several experts have recently pointed out that the rapid improvement of DR Congo army's capacity was due to good military cooperation established by Kabila with a number of partner states which have enormously contributed to the training and equipping of several Congolese army units.
Last month, a U.S. website, "Global Fire Power," which is specialised on issues of defense, ranked the DR Congo army at position 10 in Africa and 73 globally, with a total number of 155,000 officers and 1,500 reservists.
