The southern African regional bloc has decided to end its military deployment to the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo where it lost at least a dozen soldiers in conflict there in January.
The 16-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) held an extraordinary summit to discuss the conflict in eastern DRC, held via video conference this week.
The situation in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was the main topic on the agenda, with Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi attending the meeting.
The participants at the summit decided to terminate the mandate of SAMIDRC, the SADC Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and directed the commencement of a phased withdrawal of SAMIDRC troops from the DRC, the group said in a statement at the end of the meeting.
The SAMIDRC was sent to the region in December 2023 to help the government of the DRC, a SADC member, restore peace and security.
But South Africa lost 14 soldiers in the eastern DRC conflict in January. Most were from the SAMIDRC mission but at least two were deployed as part of a separate United Nations peacekeeping mission.
Three Malawian troops in the SADC deployment were also killed.
Officials did not comment on the size of the military deployment, which also includes soldiers from Tanzania.
The bulk of the troops come from South Africa, which is estimated to have sent at least 1,000 troops.
Calls have been mounting in South Africa for the soldiers still in the DRC to be withdrawn, with reports that they are confined to their base by M23 fighters.
Regional conflict
The conflict in the area of South and North Kivus has seen some three decades of unrest and claimed millions of lives.
The M23 has seized swathes of the mineral-rich and volatile eastern DRC, including the key cities of Goma and Bukavu, in a lightning advance since January.
DRC's neighbours are trying to mobilise diplomacy to put an end to this deadly fighting.
The virtual SADC summit came a day after Angola announced that peace talks between the DRC and the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group would begin next week.
Angola indicates M23 rebels are ready to begin direct peace talks on 18 March
Opening Thursday's summit, SADC chairperson and Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa called for a "greater sense of urgency" in efforts to end the conflict, which he said could cause instability beyond the DRC's borders.
Inclusive dialogue was essential, he said, adding that the review of the SAMIDRC mandate was "timely".
Angola's presidential office hopes that talks between the DRC and M23 will begin next Tuesday.
"Following the steps taken by the Angolan mediation... delegations from the Democratic Republic of Congo and the M23 will begin direct peace talks on 18 March in the city of Luanda," it said.
Angolan President Joao Lourenco had earlier met DRC President Felix Tshisekedi, who had previously refused to engage in dialogue with the M23 as demanded by Rwanda.
Angola pushes for direct talks between Kinshasa and M23 in DRC crisis
A report by UN experts has said Rwanda maintains some 4,000 troops in the eastern DRC in support of the M23. Rwanda denies providing the group with military assistance.
The DRC says the M23's advance has killed more than 7,000 people since the beginning of 2025. These figures remain to be verified independently.
(with AFP)
