The summit of heads of state and government of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), held virtually on March 13, 2025, has directed the phased withdrawal of its troops from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The SADC communiqué from the summit states: “The Summit terminated the mandate of SAMIDRC and directed the commencement of a phased withdrawal of SAMIDRC troops from the DRC.”
Following the advance of M23 forces in Eastern DRC, SAMIDRC troops sustained 19 casualties, with 14 soldiers killed from South Africa, 3 from Malawi, and 2 from Tanzania. Since then, the troops have remained in the M23 controlled areas of Eastern DRC. On March 12, 2025, President Cyril Ramaphosa explained that the situation of the troops had become precarious.
Following a visit by the DRC President on March 11, 2025, Angola announced the opening of a direct negotiation window between the DRC government and M23. The first meeting is scheduled for March 18, 2025.
In its statement on Thursday, the DRC government expressed its support for the new approach initiated by Angola after the visit.
“The Head of State welcomed the initiative of Angolan President João Lourenço, who convened a meeting on March 11 in Luanda to accelerate the relaunch of the Luanda and Nairobi Processes,” a statement from the DRC President’s office said.
It continued: “This approach, which he fully and resolutely supports, demonstrates Angola’s desire to help our region emerge from the crisis. It is crucial that the decisions made during this meeting quickly translate into concrete actions on the ground declared the President of the DRC”.
In its statement on March 13, 2025, M23 called on the DRC President to publicly express his commitment to direct negotiations with M23 and request the mediation team to formally inform all stakeholders of its initiative and its terms of reference.
“Our movement has not yet received any official notification and is relying solely on a statement published on the Facebook page of the Angolan Presidency,” M23 stated in its announcement.
