Southern Africa bloc ends military mission in DR Congo

People gather next to some vehicles from the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) as part of the SADC Mission as they flee the Masisi territory following clashes between M23 rebels and government forces, at a road near Sake on February 7, 2024. [AFP]

The southern African regional bloc decided Thursday 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 a virtual summit to discuss the conflict in the area that has seen some three decades of unrest and claimed millions of lives.

The "Summit terminated the mandate of SAMIDRC and directed the commencement of a phased withdrawal of SAMIDRC troops from the DRC," it said in a statement at the end of the meeting.

The SADC Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (SAMIDRC) was sent to the region in December 2023 to help the government of the DRC, a SADC member, restore peace and security.

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 do not comment on the size of the military deployment -- which also includes soldiers from Tanzania -- but 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Calls have been mounting in South Africa for the soldiers still in the DRC to be withdrawn, with reports that they are confined to their base by M23 fighters.

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.

The virtual SADC summit comes a day after Angola announced that peace talks between the DRC and the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group would begin next week.

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 announced late on Wednesday that talks between the DRC and M23 would 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 March 18 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.

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. AFP has not been able to verify that figure independently.