The forces of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have begun to arrive in eastern DRC, where they will face rebel groups opposing the Kinshasa state, including M23.
The deployment of the force was decided at a summit held in Windhoek, Namibia, on May 7, 2023, and the agreement was signed on November 17 between the DR Congo and SADC leaders.
These forces will replace the East African Community Regional Force (EACRF) that was deployed in North Kivu and Ituri at the end of 2022 to combat armed groups, mainly the M23. However, President Felix Tshisekedi accused them of treason because they did not fight against the M23.
As a result, at the 23rd ordinary summit held in Arusha, Tanzania, on November 24, the heads of state concluded that the EAC forces would withdraw from the DRC, and almost all of them have now left.
Sources from eastern DRC say that SADC forces, especially the South African Army, have arrived in the country.
The SADC bloc consists of Angola, Botswana, Comoros, DR Congo C, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
It is not known whether all 16 of these countries will send troops to eastern Congo to suppress armed groups led by M23.