South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has authorized the deployment of 2,900 soldiers to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where recent violent clashes between the state army and the M23 rebel group have killed dozens of civilians and displaced thousands.
The move is part of Pretoria’s contribution to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) mission aimed at helping the DR Congo government tackle the protracted conflict with armed insurgents, the president’s office said in a statement on Monday. It is expected to cost the South African government the equivalent of $105 million and will run until December of this year, according to the statement.
The 16-nation SADC force (SAMIDRC), which was approved in May 2023, will replace the East African Community (EAC) regional mission that was withdrawn from the DR Congo last December after Kinshasa deemed it ineffective. Malawi and Tanzania are also expected to contribute troops to the joint military effort.
Decades of conflicts and escalating violence in the eastern region of the mineral-rich Central African nation between authorities and militants over land and resources have killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions more, according to UN figures.
At least 28 civilians have been killed and more than 50 others injured in renewed clashes in several cities in the troubled North Kivu province, the UN reported on Tuesday, citing local sources.
Last week, thousands of civilians fled their homes in the city of Sake, which is about 27km (16 miles) from the conflict-torn provincial capital, Goma, after fighters from the allegedly Rwanda-backed M23 launched attacks, reportedly detonating heavy and light weapons.
The latest assaults have sparked protests in the former Belgian colony, with locals accusing Western diplomatic missions of failing to act and demanding that they leave the country. Flags belonging to the EU, US, and Belgium were burned by protesters in the national capital, Kinshasa, during demonstrations that erupted on Friday.
On Saturday, the UN Organization Stabilization Mission (MONUSCO), which is set to start withdrawing its troops from the DR Congo in April, reported that several of its vehicles had been torched by angry locals. The peacekeeping mission has been operating in the volatile east since 1999, but Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi requested the “speedy” departure of the soldiers last year, declaring that it is time for Kinshasa to defend itself. He accused the troops of being incapable of reining in the rebels, resolving armed conflicts, or protecting civilians.