South Africa, Tanzania and Malawi to withdraw troops from conflict-torn eastern Congo

JARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) – African leaders announced Thursday that thousands of troops were evacuated from South Africa, Tanzania and Malawi, who were sent to the Congo's mineral-rich mineral-rich insurgency, where M23 insurgents occupied some of the region's peacemakers this year.

Forces from the three countries were dispatched under the banner of Southern Africa’s development communities in 2023, but public opposition to deployment has surged since 14 South Africa, with three Malawi peacemen killed by rebels in January.

The decision was announced at a virtual meeting of a group of 16 members in Congo, which also includes Congo and the day after Angola announced that peace talks will be held next week between the Congo government and the M23 rebels.

There is no timetable for the announced troops, with their number reaching over 3,000, but the Sadi Biological Society said in a statement that it would be a “phase evacuation.”

South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola told his country's national broadcaster SABC that other warriors should now withdraw. “In the conflict, all uninvited, competitive parties must also withdraw and participate in the ceasefire process,” Ramora said.

The African Development Goal mission is part of countless troops in mineral-rich areas that have been plagued by armed violence for decades. These include Congolese government soldiers, foreign mercenaries, UN peacekeeping forces, and more than 100 groups fighting for power, land and precious mineral resources. Others try to defend their communities. Some armed groups have been accused of mass killing and ethnic cleansing.

According to UN experts, the M23 rebels were supported by about 4,000 soldiers from neighboring Rwanda, and sometimes vowed to just arrive in the Congolese capital Kinshasa, more than 1,000 miles.

Rwanda rejected allegations, including the Congolese government and UN experts, supporting M23 in eastern Congo, a region now one of the world's largest humanitarian crises, with more than 7 million people displaced.

Over the past two months, M23 has controlled the city of Goma, the major eastern Congo city, withdrew its withdrawal of African Development Community forces and occupied Bukaf, the second largest city in the offensive.

Fourteen South African soldiers, at least three from Malawi, were killed in the fight in January. The United Nations then evacuated a group of seriously injured South African peacekeepers, although the South African government did not provide the figures.

At a meeting last November in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, the African Development Community deployed troops to eastern Congo in December 2023 and extended the mission for one year.

Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa called for “continuous support” to safely evacuate troops and evacuate equipment, adding that “dialogue is a dialogue to welcome lasting peace”.

The UN Human Rights Commission established a committee last month that will investigate atrocities, including “summary executions” of rape allegations and killing both sides.