Defence chiefs from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the East African Community (EAC) are in agreement that the mandate of the SADC mission in the eastern DR Congo (SAMIDRC) is in dilemma and untenable. The defence chiefs and representatives from 13 countries from the two regional economic communities met in Nairobi, Kenya February 21 and agreed that any short-, medium-, and long-term steps to resolve the eastern DR Congo conflict will depend on successful political engagement of all parties. ALSO READ: South Africa has no better option than withdrawing from Congo: expert They also agreed that the political engagement should address the root causes of the conflict, which pits AFC/M23 rebels and the Congolese government coalition, which include SADC forces, Burundian troops, and militias such as FDLR – a DR Congo-based terrorist militia founded by remnants of the masterminds of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda – and a loose alliance of local militia groups called Wazalendo. ALSO READ: What is the Alliance Fleuve Congo/M23 rebellion all about? The SADC mission, which has troops from South Africa, Malawi and Tanzania, has faced growing called to withdraw from DR Congo, since January when the AFC/M23 rebels advanced on the key city of Goma before capturing it on January 27. ALSOO READ: Malawi president orders troops out of eastern DR Congo The South Africa-led mission also faced criticism for fighting alongside UN-sanctioned militias, such as FDLR which is linked to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. ALSO READ: South African MPs call for inquiry into troop deployment to DR Congo The conclusion on the status of the SADC mission reached at the Nairobi meeting forms part of an eight-page report emanating from a joint EAC and SADC defence technical experts meeting on the eastern DR Congo. Recommendations from the meeting call for direct communication and engagement, as well as establishing a 16-strong technical assessment team to evaluate security, the humanitarian situation and critical infrastructure, including airports. SAMIDRC was deployed in December 2023 to shore up the Congolese army against the rebels. The war between the Congolese government army coalition that includes FDLR, over 10,000 Burundian troops, 1,600 European mercenaries, and South Africa-led SADC forces, against M23 rebels started in 2021. M23 is now part of a larger rebel coalition, Alliance fleuve Congo (AFC), created in December 2023. VIDEO: Corneille Nangaa on rebellion’s plan to march to Kinshasa The AFC is fighting for governance that supports basic human rights, secures all Congolese citizens, and addresses the root causes of conflict. Its leaders have vowed to uproot tribalism, nepotism, corruption, and genocide ideology, among other vices, widespread in DR Congo. ALSO READ: Why genocide ideology doesn’t dissolve three decades after dispersion of genocidaires ALSO READ: Rwanda offers passage for bodies of South African soldiers But the SADC mission failed after the M23 captured Goma, the capital of North Kivu Province, and quickly moved to secure and stabilise the situation and restore order there, as well as moved on to capture South Kivu Province’s capital, Bukavu, on February 15. Before that happened, people were urging the rebels to quickly move in, and secure the entire city. ALSO READ: M23 are no terrorists, the Congolese army is – say Bukavu residents About 129 wounded South African troops including two pregnant soldiers were repatriated on February 25, after Rwanda offered them passage through the Rubavu border. The soldiers, who included other SADC troops, boarded a plane from Kigali International Airport on February 24. The bodies of 14 of its soldiers that were killed as they fought along side the Congolese army coalition in Goma and Sake were repatriated after they too passed through Rwanda on February 7. South African soldiers who surrendered are still confined in their bases in Goma and Sake, areas controlled by the M23, an embarrassing situation that has irked some politicians in South Africa. “For them to go to the toilet, they must get permission from M23. For them to get water, they must ask M23,” opposition leader Julius Malema is reported to have said at a church feast in Johannesburg. Defence and security experts are calling on South Africa to negotiate and withdraw its troops from eastern DR Congo saying the SADC mission has failed. Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera on February 5 ordered his troops to withdraw from conflict-ridden DR Congo.
