A defence and security expert has welcomed the decision by the South African Development Community (SADC) to terminate the mandate of its military mission in DR Congo (SAMIDRC), saying the troops were no longer serving any purpose in the conflict-ridden country.
An Extraordinary Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the SADC bloc held virtually on Thursday March 13, directed a phased withdrawal of SAMIDRC troops from eastern DR Congo, where they had been deployed in December 2023 to shore up the Congolese army in the war against the AFC/M23 rebels.
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The Congolese government coalition includes Burundi troops, the FDLR militia formed by perpetrators of the Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, European mercenaries, and several militia groups known as Wazalendo.
But the coalition failed to ward off the advancement of the AFC/M23 rebels, who now control Goma and Bukavu, two major cities in eastern DR Congo.
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The SAMIDRC troops from South Africa, Tanzania and Malawi negotiated their surrender in January and are currently confined to their bases surrounded by the M23 rebels in Sake and Goma. The M23 rebels are controlling their movements.
Commenting after the termination of the failed mission, African Defence Review Director Darren Olivier welcomed the move although he pointed out that the withdrawal of the troops had taken far too long.
"As I, and many others, have said several times, it has been clear ever since M23 captured Goma [in late January] that SAMIDRC's mandate was no longer viable and that the mission should be ended and the troops withdrawn. A mandate termination was all but inevitable," Olivier said.
"In my view, although this has taken far too long, South Africa, Tanzania, and Malawi did the right thing to ignore knee-jerk calls for immediate withdrawal while bringing SAMIDRC's ongoing status into the EAC-SADC negotiation process along with a formal SADC mandate termination."
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Olivier believes that the SADC will want an orderly withdrawal, with equipment and weaponry intact, as part of the overarching East Africa Community-SADC negotiations process.
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"That would likely also require repairing the Goma Airport runway, as most equipment can only be airlifted out," he said.
The SADC Extraordinary Summit chaired by Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnanagagwa reiterated the need for a political and diplomatic solution with all parties including state, non-state parties, military and non-military in the eastern DR Congo for the restoration of peace, security and tranquility in the country.
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The decision to withdraw the troops was made after the Summit received the latest updates on the security situation in the eastern part of the DR Congo and considered the report on the SAMIDRC mandate from the Extraordinary SADC Organ Troika Summit which was held on March6.
The Troika had recommended the withdrawal of the SADC troops saying their position was unattainable.
In addition to withdrawing its troops, the Summit held on Thursday further reiterated the decision from the joint Summit EAC and SADC to merge the Luanda and Nairobi Process and inclusion of more facilitators to enhance the peace-building process.
