HARARE, March 13 (Xinhua) -- The Southern African Development Community (SADC) announced on Thursday that it will terminate its military mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) amid ongoing hostilities by the March 23 Movement (M23) rebels.

During an extraordinary virtual summit attended by several heads of state of its member countries, the SADC decided to end the mandate of the SADC Mission in the DRC (SAMIDRC) and ordered a phased withdrawal of its troops.

The SADC is a regional economic community comprising 16 member states: Angola, Botswana, the Comoros, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Deployed in December 2023, SAMIDRC comprises military personnel from Malawi, South Africa and Tanzania, who have been supporting the DRC military in combating armed groups in the eastern region. However, the mission has suffered casualties, raising concerns about its ability to achieve its objectives amid escalating violence.

The SADC paid tribute to fallen soldiers from the DRC, South Africa, Malawi and Tanzania who lost their lives in the mission. The decision to withdraw marks a shift in the bloc's approach to the conflict. While reaffirming its commitment to peace and security in the DRC, the SADC signaled a move away from direct military intervention, emphasizing the need for political and diplomatic solutions involving both state and non-state actors.

The summit took place against the backdrop of mounting tensions, as M23 rebels have seized vast territories in North Kivu and South Kivu provinces in the eastern DRC. In these areas, the Congo River Alliance (AFC), a politico-military group allied with the M23, has established a parallel provincial administration.

The conflict between the M23 and the DRC government could be traced back to the aftermath of the 1994 Rwandan genocide against the Tutsi and ongoing ethnic tensions, particularly between the Tutsi and Hutu populations. The DRC has accused Rwanda of supporting the M23, while Kigali alleges that the DRC military has allied with the Rwandan rebel group Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, which is linked to the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

SHIFTING PEACE EFFORTS

At the summit, the SADC reaffirmed its decision to merge the Luanda and Nairobi peace processes and expand the number of facilitators to enhance the peace-building efforts.

The Luanda and Nairobi peace initiatives, brokered by African regional organizations, aim to restore stability in the eastern DRC. However, there are growing differences between Kinshasa and its regional partners regarding how these processes should evolve.

Kinshasa has called for "alignment" between the two initiatives to ensure that they are elevated to the same organizational level. "Obviously, the two processes have completely different targets and stakeholders," said DRC Minister of Foreign Affairs Therese Kayikwamba Wagner in early March, advocating for the Nairobi Process to be placed under the African Union (AU) rather than solely the East African Community (EAC).

In February, several African leaders agreed to merge the two peace efforts at a joint summit hosted by the EAC and the SADC in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Weeks later, the two regional blocs designated former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, and former Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn as facilitators of the newly merged "Luanda/Nairobi Process."

"We are talking more about aligning the two processes so that the Nairobi Process also falls under the AU's umbrella and is no longer under the EAC alone," Wagner said.

POSSIBLE DIRECT TALKS BETWEEN DRC AND M23

A significant shift in the DRC government's stance may also be unfolding, as it considers engaging in direct peace talks with the M23.

On Wednesday, the Angolan government announced that Kinshasa and the M23 would hold direct negotiations in Luanda, the capital of Angola. However, the DRC has long opposed direct engagement with the rebel group.

"Never, ever, as long as I am president of the DRC, will I negotiate with M23 or the AFC," DRC President Felix Tshisekedi said in August 2024.

Despite this stance, DRC presidential spokesperson Tina Salama said Wednesday that the government had received an invitation from Angola, though she did not confirm whether Kinshasa would participate.

Meanwhile, the DRC continues to push for the revival of the Nairobi Process. However, the progress has stalled. In early February, Kenyatta's spokesperson Kanze Dena said the Nairobi Process had reached an "impasse," noting that Kinshasa had excluded the M23, viewing the group as a proxy for foreign interests, particularly Rwanda.

The M23 has expressed willingness to engage in talks but has yet to respond to the proposed negotiations scheduled for March 18.

As fighting continues on multiple fronts, fears are growing that the conflict could spiral into a broader regional war. "If it continues like this, war risks becoming widespread in the region," Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye warned in early February. Enditem

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