SADC agrees to meet EAC over Congo crisis

Southern African Development Community (SADC) leaders have agreed to a joint summit with their East African Community (EAC) counterparts to try to end the crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where rebels have seized control of vast territory. 

The SADC leaders, who met for an extraordinary summit in Harare on Friday, expressed concern about the deteriorating security situation in the DRC, after the M23 rebels attacked peacekeepers from the regional bloc as they moved to capture the major city of Goma last week. 

A communique of the summit called for immediate ceasefire and dialogue to end the conflict that has displaced millions of people.

“The Summit called for an immediate joint summit of SADC and EAC to deliberate on the way forward regarding the security situation in the DRC,” the communique said.

DRC President Felix Tshisekedi, who on Wednesday snubbed an EAC summit to discuss the conflict in his country, participated -- virtually – in the Harare summit.

On January 22, the rebels attacked the South African contingent in the SADC Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (SamiDRC), killing 13 soldiers and wounding several others.

Three Malawian soldiers were also killed in another attack by the M23 fighters.

The Harare summit, chaired by Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa, “condemned in the strongest terms” the attacks on the SamiDRC as the regional leaders conceded that the peacekeeping mission that replaced an EAC force two years ago had failed to meet its objectives.

“The Summit recalled its decision of May 2023 to deploy a peacekeeping mission to DRC in order to support the desire for peace and security and defend its territorial integrity,” the communique said. “In this regard, the Summit noted that these objectives have not yet been realised.” 

President Tshisekedi accuses Rwanda, a fellow partner state of the EAC, of arming the M23 group and at times sending its forces to fight alongside the rebels inside DRC.

The M23 was formed in 2012 as an offshoot of another rebel group, and its stated goals are to protest the injustice meted out on the Tutsi population in eastern DRC, which has long complained of persecution and discrimination.

Kigali, which has also accused the Congolese authorities of working with some rebel groups made up of people responsible for the 1994 Rwandan genocide who then fled to the DRC, denies charges that it is arming the rebels.

SamiDRC was first deployed on December 15, 2023 to support the DRC army to fight resurgent armed groups in the eastern part of the country.

SADC leaders in December last year agreed to extend the mission by another year at an extraordinary summit held in Zimbabwe.

The regional force comprises armies from Malawi, South Africa, Tanzania and elements of the Congolese army.

SADC’s Mutual Defence Pact (2003), which motivated the setting up of the SamiDRC, emphasises that: “Any armed attack perpetrated against one of the member states parties shall be considered a threat to regional peace security and shall be met with immediate collective action.”

The United Nations on Friday said an assessment by the World Health Organisation and its partners between January 26 and 30 showed that 700 people had been killed and 2,800 injured in Goma and surrounding areas.

“These numbers are expected to rise as more information becomes available,” UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.

The M23 are advancing towards South Kivu’s provincial capital Buakavu, according to the UN.

Critics say SamiDRC’s capacity to eliminate the armed groups in the eastern DRC is constrained by lack of resources.

SADC member states contribute to the budget for the mission while the African Union Commission provides logistical and financial support .

In 2021, SADC deployed a regional force to northern Mozambique to help quell a jihadist insurgency in the Cabo Delgado region.

The SADC force struggled to make an impact due to low troop contributions by member states and lack of resources until Rwanda sent its troops, which helped to turn the tide against the rebels.