ITURI: COMMUNITY REINTEGRATION – P-DDRCS RAISES AWARENESS AMONG HOST COMMUNITIES FOR DEMOBILIZED EX-COMBATANTS IN TSERE
Tsere, Irumu Territory, 20 December 2025 – A community awareness-raising and consultation session targeting local communities and traditional leaders on the return of demobilized ex-combatants was organized on Saturday, 20 December 2025, by the Ituri Provincial Coordination of the Programme for Disarmament, Demobilization, Community Recovery and Stabilization (P-DDRCS) in the Tsere grouping, Irumu Territory.
The activity, held in the local multipurpose hall, brought together the Acting Provincial Coordinator of the P-DDRCS Ituri, Mr. Flory KITOKO MANIANGA; the Head of the P-DDRCS Irumu Field Office; traditional chiefs; representatives of civil society; and demobilized ex-combatants.
This session followed the conclusion of a series of community awareness and consultation meetings conducted from 16 December 2025 in several localities across Irumu Territory, including Soleniama, Kabarole, Bavandi and Tsere.
The objective was to actively involve host communities in areas receiving demobilized ex-combatants, mitigate tensions linked to ongoing labour-intensive community works (HIMO) implemented in partnership with IOM, prevent frustration among community members, and promote social cohesion and peaceful coexistence between returnees and host populations.
During the session, the Head of the P-DDRCS Irumu Field Office, Mr. Claude KASUNA, explained the importance of voluntary and mobile disarmament as a key step in the DDR process, enabling demobilized individuals to access community recovery projects and socio-economic reintegration opportunities.
For his part, the Acting Provincial Coordinator of the P-DDRCS Ituri emphasized that local ownership of the DDR process remains a prerequisite for improving the security environment in areas of return. He highlighted that the active involvement of communities helps prevent communal tensions, strengthens social cohesion and ensures peaceful coexistence.
Participants welcomed the initiative, describing it as timely and highly relevant, and called for similar awareness sessions to be extended to other entities within Irumu Territory. Traditional leaders and community representatives also committed to relaying the message to young people still in the bush, encouraging them to join the P-DDRCS process.
It should be noted that this series of awareness-raising activities was financially supported by the central government, through the Ministry of Defence and Veterans Affairs, and forms part of the implementation of Pillars 3 and 5 of the National P-DDRCS Strategy.
P-DDRCS Communication Unit
