The President of DR Congo, Félix Tshisekedi, and his counterparts Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa and Évariste Ndayishimiye of Burundi held a tripartite meeting on the deployment of troops of the SADC (SAMIDRC) in the East of DRC.
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is contributing contingents to its mission in response to the resurgence of attacks by the March 23 Movement (M23) in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
South Africa and Burundi are among the troop-contributing countries of the SAMIDRC.
Malawi and Tanzania have also begun deploying military contingents to the DRC, according to Angolan Foreign Minister Tete Antonio.
During a tripartite meeting held Saturday on the sidelines of the 37th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Heads of State and Government of the African Union in Addis Ababa, the three Heads of State discussed the best coordination of operations on the ground.
SADC delegation at the AU summit was led by Executive Secretary H.E. Elias Magosi.
This week, two South African soldiers under SAMIDRC were killed and the other three were injured in a bomb attack in Goma city, Eastern DRC.
Ramaphosa deployed 2,900 members of the South African National Defence Force to assist in the fight against illegal armed groups. The deployment will cover one year.
SADC joins AUPSC
On the sideline of the 44th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council of the African Union this week, a briefing session was held with the SADC Organ Troika Ministers + DRC on several issues relevant to Peace and Security in the region.
Four SADC Member States; Angola, Botswana, DRC and Tanzania were elected to the African Union’s Peace & Security Council.
The AU Executive Council elects 10 AUPSC members with 2-year mandates effective 1 April 2024. The AUPSC is the African Union’s top peace and security decision-making body.