The East African Community regional force began its retreat from the Democratic Republic of the Congo's conflict-torn east on Sunday after Kinshasa declared it inefficient and refused to renew its mandate.
The seven-nation EAC deployed soldiers in the violence-plagued region for the first time in November 2022, at the request of DRC authorities, to liberate territory held by the resurgent M23 rebel group.
However, the deployment's future was questioned as President Felix Tshisekedi and residents accused the army of cohabiting with the rebels rather than forcing them to lay down their arms.
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On Sunday morning, two contingents of roughly 100 Kenyan soldiers took off from the airport in Goma, the capital of the eastern district of North Kivu.
There were no Congolese officials on the tarmac when the planes took off at roughly 05:00 am (0300 GMT) and 10:30 am, respectively, and there had been no announcement from the government as of midday.
The EAC announced late last month that the DRC, a bloc member, had decided not to extend the force's mission beyond December 8.
A spokesman for the EAC force present on Sunday said the two military contingents were flying to Nairobi, Kenya's capital, but provided no specifics on the next steps in the force's evacuation, including soldiers from Burundi, South Sudan, and Uganda.
"We are happy to see the EAC leave," a taxi-scooter driver in Goma, Emmanuel Agaye, told AFP.
"We know they came to help us fight. But they didn't fight."
"The EAC has no place here," added Goma resident Innocent Niyibizi.
"Imagine our surprise when the M23 rebels overtook the EAC positions and seized new areas," he said.
According to sources, M23 (the Movement of 23 March) rebels re-emerged in North Kivu in late 2021, conquering vast swaths of the province with support from neighboring Rwanda, another EAC member.
