Kelvin Jakachira
Troops from the Southern African Development Community Mission (SADC) will be withdrawn from the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo by road through Rwanda due to delays in the rehabilitation of the airport in Goma.
A communique from the SADC Mission in the DRC (SAMIDRC) dated 11 April advised of a delay in the re-opening of Goma airport, stating it “could cause further delays” in the troop withdrawal.
According to the communique the SADC Secretariat in Gaborone, Botswana will engage Rwanda to facilitate safe passage for the troops from the failed SAMIDRC.
It said the troop withdrawal from Goma will be by road through Rwanda to the designated general assembly area of Chato in Tanzania.
This emerged from discussion of a revised withdrawal plan at a meeting last Friday (11 April) attended by chiefs of the three defence forces that contributed troops and equipment to the failed mission.
The defence chiefs are general Rudzani Maphwanya (SA National Defence Force), general Jacob Mkunda (Tanzania People’s Defence Force- TPDF) and general Paul Phiri (Malawi Defence Force). Also present at the Dar es Salaam headquarters of the TPDF for the meeting was Professor Kula Theletsane, Director of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Affairs.
The SADC mission to the DR Congo was terminated last month following their surrender to the M23/Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC) rebels.
The SADC troops were deployed in December 2023 to shore up the DR Congo army, European mercenaries, Burundian army, the FDLR which comprises remnants of the perpetrators of the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda and militias known as Wazalendo which were fighting the M23 rebels.
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The coalition was defeated by the M23 rebels which seized key territory in the eastern DR Congo including Goma, the capital of the North Kivu and Bukavu, South Kivu’s provincial capital.
Its termination, to be followed by a phased withdrawal, was announced by the regional bloc on 13 March following a summit of its leaders.
The termination of the mission was prompted after they failed to neutralize the M23/Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC) rebels. In the process all three troop contributing countries suffered casualties.
