Rwanda agrees to host Southern African troop exit from DR Congo
Diplomatic sources involved in discussions between Rwanda and SADC confirmed that Rwanda has accepted the arrangement for troops to travel overland.
Rwanda has agreed to a request from the Southern African regional bloc to allow troops exiting conflict-torn eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to pass through its territory on their way to Tanzania, according to three diplomatic sources familiar with the matter.
The Southern African Development Community (SADC), a coalition of 16 countries, had deployed its military mission, known as SAMIDRC, to support Congolese forces in tackling armed rebel groups operating near the country’s eastern border.
However, in March, the bloc announced it would wind down the mission and begin withdrawing troops in phases.
Diplomatic sources involved in discussions between Rwanda and SADC confirmed that Rwanda has accepted the arrangement for troops to travel overland.
Two of the diplomats further revealed that the troops’ weapons will be securely sealed during the journey for safety reasons and will depart Rwanda along with the soldiers.
Neither SADC officials nor representatives of the Congolese and Rwandan governments have commented publicly on the agreement.
Speaking on South African Broadcasting Corporation television, General Rudzani Maphwanya, who heads the South African National Defence Force, said on Thursday that a technical team had been deployed to Tanzania to work out logistical details for the withdrawal.
The SAMIDRC force was first deployed in December 2023 to assist the DRC government in combating armed groups, particularly as the security crisis worsened in the eastern part of the country.
Since January, the rebel group M23 has taken control of the two largest cities in eastern Congo, further destabilizing the region.
The ongoing violence is tied to the fallout from Rwanda's 1994 genocide and ongoing tensions over access to Congo’s rich mineral deposits.
The troop movement marks a major step in the drawdown of the regional force, though broader questions remain about the security vacuum likely to be left behind in an already volatile area.