HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — African leaders on Thursday announced the withdrawal of thousands of troops from South Africa, Tanzania and Malawi. In Malawi, Tanzania, M23 rebels killed some of the peacekeeping forces, and this year they killed some of the peacekeeping forces.
Armed forces from the three countries were sent in 2023 South African Development Community Flagor SADC, but public opposition to deployment has skyrocketed since 14 South African and three Malawian peacekeepers were killed by rebels in January.
The decision came after a virtual meeting of a bloc of 16 people, including the Congo, the day after Angola announced that it would hold peace talks between the Congolese government and the M23 rebels next week.
No schedule was announced for the withdrawal of troops numbered up to 3,000 people, but SADC said in a statement that it will be a “phased withdrawal.”
South Africa's Foreign Minister Ronald Lamora told SABC, his country's national broadcaster, that other warriors should also withdraw. “In that conflict, all uninvited forces, uninvited parties, must also withdraw and engage in the process of halt,” Ramora said.
At a meeting with European Union leaders in Cape Town, a European Union city in South Africa, South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa said the decision to withdraw the troops was made because the ceasefire process was “now adopted.”
He expressed confidence in planned peace negotiations between the Congo and the M23 under the mediation of Angola President Joan Lourenzo, but said that humanitarian assistance to the people of East Congo and political support for the country is needed to ensure the ceasefire is maintained.
The SADC mission was part of countless forces operating in areas with plagued by mineral-rich regions Decades of armed violence. They include soldiers of the Congolese government, foreign mercenaries, UN peacekeeping forces, and more than 100 groups fighting for power, land and valuable mineral resources. Others try to protect their community. Some armed groups have been accused of mass murders targeting ethnic groups.
According to UN experts, the M23 rebels are supported by a force of around 4,000 people from nearby Rwanda, and have sometimes vowed to march to the Congolese capital, Kinshasa, more than 1,000 miles away.
Rwanda has rejected the claim, including that Congolese government and UN expertswhich is currently supporting the M23 in eastern Congo, a region that is one of the world's biggest humanitarian crises.
The withdrawal of the SADC forces comes after the M23 He ruled the main cities of East Congo Over the past two months, they have offensively seized Bukabu, the second largest city.
14 South African soldiers and at least three from Malawi I was killed in January In the fight. Later the United Nations Evacuation The South African government did not provide numbers, but a group of seriously injured South African peacekeeping forces.
The SADC deployed its troops in eastern Congo in December 2023 and extended its delegation to another year during a meeting in Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, last November.
SADC Chairman Zimbabwean President Emerson Mnangagwa added that “dialogue is an important cog to guide lasting peace” in the Congo.
Last month, UN Human Rights Council A committee has been established to investigate atrocitiesincluding allegations of rape and murders similar to “summary enforcement” by both parties.
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Associated Press writer Gerald Imray in Cape Town, South Africa, contributed to the report.
