Online Reporter
Rumbidzayi Zinyuke, Harare Bureau
SADC Chairman, President Mnangagwa, is set to convene an Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government to address the escalating security crisis in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and deliberate on recommendations from the virtual Extraordinary Organ Troika Summit held on Thursday.
In a communiqué, the SADC Secretariat announced that the date of the summit, likely to be held in Harare, will be revealed soon.
“The outcomes and recommendations from the Extraordinary Organ Troika Summit will be presented to the Extraordinary Summit of SADC Heads of State and Government, to be convened soon on a date to be confirmed.”
The virtual Troika Summit, chaired by Tanzanian President Dr Samia Suluhu Hassan in her capacity as Chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence, and Security Co-operation, focused on strategies to restore peace in the DRC. It also reviewed the report of the defence sub-committee on the mandate of the SADC Mission in the DRC (SAMIDRC).
The meeting was attended by the incoming Chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence, and Security Co-operation, Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera, along with Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, and DRC President Félix Tshisekedi.
In her opening remarks, Dr Suluhu Hassan reiterated SADC’s unwavering commitment to supporting the DRC in its pursuit of peace. She emphasised the importance of regional solidarity in addressing the ongoing conflict.
“The summit expressed its deepest condolences to the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republics of South Africa and Malawi, and the United Republic of Tanzania for the deceased soldiers who lost their lives during the recent attacks in the eastern DRC while serving under the SAMIDRC, and wished those injured a speedy recovery,” the SADC Secretariat said in a statement.
The SAMIDRC force, deployed in December 2023 to stabilise the conflict-ridden region, has faced growing challenges, including mounting pressure from the M23 rebel advance and increasing troop casualties.
The summit reaffirmed SADC’s commitment to supporting interventions aimed at achieving lasting peace and security in the eastern DRC, in line with the SADC Mutual Defence Pact of 2003, which governs regional security operations.
Despite efforts by SADC and the East African Community (EAC), fighting between Congolese security forces and M23-led rebel groups has intensified in recent weeks. The rebels, who had previously entrenched themselves in Goma in North Kivu, have now expanded their presence to South Kivu’s capital, Bukavu, establishing new administrative structures in the city.
The conflict has fuelled one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises, with over one million Congolese seeking refuge beyond the country’s borders and about 21 million people within the country in urgent need of medical aid, food, and other essential supplies.
Since the start of last year, nearly 358 000 people have been displaced, with 80 percent of this displacement linked to armed conflict. New UN-verified data also reveals a 30 percent rise in grave violations against children in eastern DRC compared to 2023.
