Members of the SADC Mission in war-ravaged DR Congo are set to withdraw by land through Rwanda, it has emerged. A high-placed source has confirmed that a request has been made to the Government of Rwanda to facilitate the exit of Southern African Development Community (SADC) troops from eastern DR Congo through the country. ALSO READ: SAMIDRC: My visit to a force 'welcome to Soweto' but unwelcome to DR Congo The confirmation of SADC’s request comes barely a week after the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC) rebellion condemned what it called “a series of joint military operations” carried out by SADC forces in coordination with the Congolese armed forces (FARDC), the genocidal militia FDLR, and Congolese ethnic militias called Wazalendo in and around Goma. An exchange of gunfire was reported on the night of Friday, April 11 in the capital of North Kivu Province which has been in the hands of the rebels since late January. ALSO READ: SADC ‘firmly refutes allegations’ it engaged in joint FARDC-FDLR military operations in Goma against M23 This [request for exit through Rwanda] is a welcome development that's in line with the Africa-led process to find lasting peace and security in the region, and the exit will be facilitated in a friendly manner, the source told The New Times early Thursday, April 17, confirming the request came in this week. ALSO READ: DR Congo crisis: North Kivu governor calms Goma residents after night gunfire The clashes in Goma between the AFC/M23 and the Congolese government coalition occurred around 10pm on Friday in Lac Vert and Keshero neighbourhoods, and were the first ever since the rebels took control of the strategic city. In a statement released on April 14, the SADC Secretariat contested claims by the rebels that its forces in DR Congo participated in the April 11 attacks, describing the rebels’ accusations as “inaccurate and misleading.” On March 28, the rebels and the SADC mission had signed an agreement on the withdrawal of the Southern African-led SADC forces from DR Congo, with the rebels allowing the former to leave eastern DR Congo with their weapons and equipment but leaving behind all the Congolese army weapons and equipment in their possession. But last Friday's confrontation has since seen the rebels withdraw from that deal and asked SAMIDRC to without immediately. The South African-led SADC forces who surrendered after the rebels captured Goma, in January, were part of the Congolese army coalition that also comprised hundreds of European mercenaries, Rwandan genocidal militias known as FDLR, Wazalendo, Burundian armed forces, as well as UN peacekeepers. FDLR is a DR Congo-based terrorist militia founded by remnants of the masterminds of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. Its plan is to return to Rwanda, forcefully, and continue its genocidal agenda. The agreement on SADC troops’ withdrawal had been reached during a meeting held between SADC and AFC/M23 senior representatives at Serena Hotel, in Goma. The meeting ended up with a deal that ensures the cessation of hostilities, a ceasefire, and the unconditional withdrawal of SAMIDRC troops from the city.
