The Southern African Development Community (Sadc) said on Thursday a summit of regional heads of state had terminated the mandate of its troop deployment in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and decided on a “phased withdrawal”.
The summit was chaired by Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa and attended by all presidents or representatives of state in the region, including President Cyril Ramaphosa and DRC President Felix Tshisekedi.
The 16-member bloc deployed its mission in DRC in December 2023 to help the DRC army fight rebel groups. It extended its mandate late last year but the mission has suffered losses in 2025.
Soldiers on the ground are still in the dark, however. One SANDF soldier in Goma, “semi-captured” by M23 rebels, told the Sunday Times this week they had not been told anything.
“We have seen news reports but nothing has been communicated to us yet by the command authority,” said the soldier, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “Normally in a situation like this, they will withdraw the main force and leave a few fighting elements and logistics people. But now we do not know who will stay and who will go first — or when this will happen.
“It’s a relief. I think once M23 took over, it was clear to everyone that the mission was a failure.”
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