SADC’s decision to remove troops from DR Congo is welcomed by South African politicians

The Southern African Development Community’s decision to remove its troops from eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo in order to resolve the situation there politically and diplomatically has been praised by a South African parliamentary defense oversight committee. At its March 13 summit, SADC “directed the commencement of a phased withdrawal” of its troops from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, ending the regional bloc’s military role there.

This was one day after it was revealed that on March 18, direct peace negotiations between the Congolese government and AFC/M23 insurgents will begin in Luanda, Angola.

Following the deaths of 14 South African National Defense Forces (SANDF) soldiers on the frontline prior to the AFC/M23 rebels defeating a large Congolese army coalition and capturing towns like Sake and Goma, lawmakers Malusi Gigaba and Phiroane Phala, co-chairs of the Joint Standing Committee on Defense, applauded the decision to end the Southern African Mission in DR Congo (SAMIDRC).

According to the committee co-chairs, “the chairpersons welcomed the decision, especially in light of the death of 14 SANDF soldiers in the DRC and the necessity to explore other political and diplomatic options to resolve the impasse.”

Our conviction that discussion should be at the core of efforts to address the DRC conflict is reaffirmed by the SADC Heads of State’s recommendation to support additional measures meant to bring about long-lasting peace and security in the country. Peace and stability in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo are prerequisites for the region’s and the DRC’s economic development.

With the assistance of allies such as hundreds of European mercenaries, the FDLR, a Rwandan genocidal militia, the Wazalendo, a Congolese militia, more than 10,000 Burundian troops, South African-led SADC forces, and UN peacekeepers, the Congolese army has been fighting the rebels.

The FDLR, a terrorist organization located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and created by the surviving masterminds of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide against the Tutsi, is one of the most dangerous components of the Congolese alliance.

The most recent conflict between the M23 rebels and the Congolese government army coalition began in 2021. M23 is currently a member of the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC), a broader rebel group that was established in December 2023. AFC is pushing for governance that protects all Congolese citizens, upholds fundamental human rights, and tackles the underlying causes of conflict. Among other evils that are pervasive in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, its leaders have pledged to eradicate corruption, nepotism, tribalism, and the ideology of genocide.

Since January, the rebels have swiftly spread throughout the provinces of North and South Kivu, seizing large areas of land. On January 27, the rebels took control of Goma, the capital of North Kivu Province, and restored order after intense combat sparked by persistent violations of an earlier ceasefire by the Congolese army coalition. The rebels once more reacted when the security situation in South Kivu worsened due to allegations of violence, looting, and atrocities spread by the Congolese army coalition. On February 15, they took control of the important airport of Kavumu before pushing south to seize the regional capital, Bukavu.

According to Gigaba and Phala, the pledge that SADC will keep collaborating with the East African Community (EAC) to combine the Luanda and Nairobi peace processes in order to improve peacebuilding in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo gave them hope.

In December 2023, SADC troops were sent to support the ill-prepared and unruly Congolese army in its conflict with M23 rebels.

After being granted safe passage through Rwanda, about 200 injured SADC soldiers were returned home on February 24.

Now that SAMIDRC’s mandate has been formally terminated, it is anticipated that efforts to remove the remaining ones will proceed.

However, it is still uncertain if SADC forces, who have been an aggressive and unfriendly force directly involved in battling the rebels, will be permitted to exit with their weapons once the gradual withdrawal officially begins.

Angie Motshekga, the minister of defense and military veterans, will meet urgently with the South African Parliamentary Joint Standing Committee on Defense to “get the envisioned phased plan of action to implement the decision by the SADC Heads of State,” according to a statement from the Parliamentary Communication Services.

In addition to the evaluation of the security risk, they are interested in “the implications of the withdrawal in context of the soldiers that will remain part of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in DRC (MONUSCO).”

Given the “volatile and unpredictable dynamics” in eastern DR Congo, the planned conference will also cover the SANDF’s strategies for ensuring the safe return of SANDF prime mission equipment.

The conclusion of the SADC mission should not be seen as a “complete abandonment of the DRC but as a refocus on using other diplomatic options to achieve the objective of peace and stability,” according to a statement from the Parliamentary Communication Services.

The SAMIDRC’s termination has been hailed by the Democratic Alliance (DA), one of the partners in South Africa’s government of national unity, which claims that AFC/M23 has already proven its supremacy in the region.

According to Chris Hattingh, the DA’s spokeswoman on Defense and Military Veterans, “the SADC’s recognition of this reality and the subsequent decision to end the mission is a necessary step, but it raises urgent questions about the effectiveness of the mission itself.”

Given the terrible circumstances the soldiers have been living in, Hattingh said the SADC decision was a positive one.

The DA has long supported troop withdrawal, particularly in the wake of the fierce fighting that took place between January 23 and 25, when South African soldiers were encircled by M23 rebels and left for 48 days without any logistical backup. They were denied food and medical supplies throughout this period, and they had to rely on M23’s kindness to survive,” Hattingh stated.

Although welcome, he said, the decision to depart will be difficult.

We urge Minister Motshekga to make sure that a sizable quantity of war gear is not abandoned, as this could end up in the hands of M23 rebels. Making sure that no important equipment is left vulnerable to our enemies requires meticulous execution of the withdrawal.

Hattingh also took issue with the “painful process” of returning fallen soldiers to their families.

The return of our soldiers’ bodies to Pretoria took 117 days, and seriously injured soldiers had to wait 31 days at 1 Military Hospital before they could receive the care they needed. This delay is intolerable and exposes the mission’s humanitarian and logistical flaws,” he said.

“It is essential to thoroughly document and consider the lessons learnt from this DRC deployment. We can’t allow this to occur once more.

“The decision to finally withdraw from the eastern DRC by the three troop contributing countries is also based on the fact that the ceasefire that we have sought to install in that place is now being embraced,” stated President Cyril Ramaphosa this week.

João Lourenço, president of Angola and chairperson of the African Union, is spearheading talks to bring about a sustainable peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo.