Eastern DRC: Southern African Community commits to deploy troops

Kinshasa wants to "replace the troops of the East African force", whose members, in this photo, accompany journalists to Bunagana, April 19, 2023. © Glody Murhabazi / AFP

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The Southern African Development Community (SADC) met on Monday 8 May in Namibia for the summit of the troika, the body responsible for defence and security issues of the subregional organisation. Chaired by Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, SADC promised in a statement to send troops to eastern DRC, without specifying the date or number of contingents, at a summit in Windhoek.

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The SADC summit "approved the deployment of forces" to "support the DRC in restoring peace and security in the east of" the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the organization said in a statement read after a day of talks.

The summit, opened by Namibian President Hage Geingob, brought together South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Congolese Felix Tshisekedi, and Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan. Angola, Malawi and Zambia were represented by ministers.

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The summit noted with great concern the instability and deterioration of the situation in eastern DRC and reiterated its strong condemnation of the upsurge in conflict and activities of armed groups, including M23 rebels," the statement said.

The summit in Windhoek also called for "a coordinated approach" in view of existing deployments "within the framework of multilateral and bilateral agreements" in the troubled eastern region of the DRC. It calls on the DRC government to "put in place the necessary conditions and measures to ensure effective coordination".

Kinshasa wants to "replace the troops of the East African force

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Kinshasa wanted to move forward on the idea of SADC military support in the security crisis in the region, particularly with regard to the M23 rebels. If Angola had already offered to send soldiers to the area, ostensibly to supervise the cantonment of the rebels, Kinshasa wanted more commitment from its neighbors. "We must replace the troops of the East African force," confided a person close to the presidency, "but with a more offensive mandate this time, we need more interposition force.

► Read also: DRC: tense atmosphere between Kinshasa and the East African Community

The challenge was to convince South Africa. The Congolese president also spoke as an aside with his counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa on Saturday, May 6 on the sidelines of a summit in Bujumburaalso devoted to the crisis in the east of the country.

For a specialist in the region, it is a question of reviving the intervention brigade that had fought against the M23 in 2013: "They have proven themselves, they have expertise, it is an insurance for us," confirms Kinshasa.

And the Congolese diplomatic offensive will continue this week since after Windhoek, Felix Tshisekedi will be in Botswana for a state trip of several days. He will take the opportunity to visit the SADC headquarters in the capital, Gaborone.

► Read also: Burundi hosts a summit on eastern DRC without key players such as Rwanda and Kenya

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Read on on the same topics:

• DRC
• M23
• South Africa