Southern African forces set to deploy in eastern DRC to quell M23 rebel militia

Southern African countries have agreed to deploy forces to help subdue violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where armed groups have terrorised civilians for decades. 

M23 soldiers leave leave Rumangabo camp after the meeting between EACRF officials and M23 rebels during the handover ceremony at Rumangabo camp in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on January 6, 2023. AFP - GUERCHOM NDEBO

A summit of the 16-member Southern African Development Community – which includes South Africa, Angola, Mozambique and Tanzania – has backed the deployment "to restore peace and security in eastern DRC."

Monday's statement from SADC – released from the Namibian capital Windhoek – was reached following talks attended by several heads of states, including DRC's President Felix Tshisekedi, his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa and ministers from the regional group.

However, the meeting did not give the numbers to be deployed nor a timeline for the deployment.

𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 #𝗦𝗔𝗗𝗖 𝗢𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻 𝗧𝗿𝗼𝗶𝗸𝗮 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁 Plus SADC Troika & Force Intervention Brigade Troop Contributing Countries held in Windhoek, Namibia on 8 May, 2023: https://t.co/0RZyvA6GjC @DIRCO_ZA @MIRCO_NAMIBIA pic.twitter.com/mwhMXqp1sK

— SADC Secretariat (@SADC_News) May 8, 2023

• Inter-Congolese dialogue opens as East Africa Community seeks to end DRC rebel activity

SADC troops to join EAC forces against M23

SADC troops will add to an East African regional military force that has taken over some areas previously occupied by the M23 militia since December 2022, but has so far failed to put a stop to the insurgency.

The Tutsi-led rebels are still present in the DRC's North Kivu province and occasionally clash with rival militia.

The East African Community force draws on troops from Burundi, Kenya, Uganda and South Sudan.

• Who are the armed groups ravaging the eastern DRCongo?

Militia groups have plagued much of eastern DRC for decades – a legacy of regional wars that flared in the 1990s and 2000s. 

The M23 militia has captured swathes of territory in North Kivu since taking up arms again in late 2021 after being dormant since 2013.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the rebel campaign has displaced over one million people since its inception in 2012.