SADC troop departure from DR Congo is long overdue, according to a defense expert from South Africa

The decision by the South African Development Community (SADC) to end the mandate of its military mission in DR Congo (SAMIDRC) has been praised by a defense and security expert, who claims that the troops are no longer needed in the war-torn nation.

A phased withdrawal of SAMIDRC forces from eastern DR Congo, where they had been sent in December 2023 to support the Congolese army in the struggle against the AFC/M23 insurgents, was ordered by an Extraordinary Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the SADC bloc, which was convened virtually on Thursday, March 13.

The FDLR militia, which was founded by those responsible for the Rwandan Genocide against the Tutsi, European mercenaries, Burundi forces, and a number of Wazalendo militia groups are all part of the Congolese government alliance.

However, the alliance was unable to stop the AFC/M23 rebels from advancing, and they currently hold control of two important cities in eastern DR Congo: Goma and Bukavu.

In January, the South African, Tanzanian, and Malawian SAMIDRC troops negotiated their surrender and are now restricted to their strongholds in Sake and Goma, which are encircled by M23 insurgents. Their movements are under the control of the M23 insurgents.

Darren Olivier, the director of the African Defense Review, praised the decision to end the unsuccessful mission, but he noted that the troops’ retreat had lasted much too long.

Since M23 took Goma [in late January], it has been obvious—as I and many others have stated numerous times—that SAMIDRC’s goal was no longer feasible and that the forces should be removed. Olivier stated that a mandate termination was practically a given.

“I believe that South Africa, Tanzania, and Malawi made the correct decision in bringing SAMIDRC’s continued status into the EAC-SADC negotiation process and a formal SADC mandate termination, even though this has taken far too long.”

According to Olivier, as part of the larger East Africa Community-SADC negotiation process, the SADC will desire an orderly departure with all weapons and equipment present.

Since most equipment can only be airlifted out, he added, “that would probably also require repairing the runway at Goma Airport.”

In order to restore peace, security, and tranquility in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, a political and diplomatic solution involving all parties—state, non-state, military, and non-military—must be reached, according to the SADC Extraordinary Summit, which was presided over by Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnanagagwa.

After reviewing the report on the SAMIDRC mandate from the Extraordinary SADC Organ Troika Summit, which took place on March 6, and receiving the most recent information on the security situation in the eastern DR Congo, the Summit decided to evacuate the troops.

The SADC forces’ position was unachievable, according to the Troika, which had suggested their evacuation.

Along with the army withdrawal, the summit on Thursday reaffirmed the combined EAC and SADC Summit’s resolution to combine the Luanda and Nairobi Processes and add more facilitators to improve the peace-building process.