The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has announced that it will withdraw its troops from the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where they have been part of a force helping to fight the M23 rebels.

In a statement following a meeting of the heads of government of Southern African nations on the security situation in the DRC, the leaders noted the continued deterioration of security in the eastern parts of the country and decided to terminate the mandate of the SAMIDRC. A phased withdrawal of SAMIDRC troops will now commence.

The decision to withdraw troops from the DRC follows the deaths of at least 19 soldiers from South Africa, Malawi, and Tanzania when M23 rebels captured the region’s largest city, Goma, in January.

In South Africa, the deployment in the DRC has faced heavy criticism from the public and opposition parties, particularly after 14 South African soldiers were killed, while others were confined to their bases in Goma and Sake by the M23 rebels.

Defence analyst Kobus Marais said in an interview with National Security News that the withdrawal of soldiers from the DRC will be a complex process. He described the decision as one SADC was forced into rather than took voluntarily.

Marais, who has been vocal in his opposition to the presence of South African troops in the DRC, described the deployment as “a total disaster and totally unsustainable.” He argued that it was never a true SADC operation but rather a South African mission with limited support from Malawi and Tanzania.

He estimated that it would take billions of rands to bring the South African soldiers and their equipment back from the DRC, specifically from Lubumbashi, and expressed hope that SADC would help fund the repatriation effort.

Marais also predicted that the release of captive soldiers would be a major challenge and likely the first step in the withdrawal process. “The United Nations,” he said, “will also have to be involved.”

According to Marais, the deaths of South African soldiers and sustained pressure from the opposition and the media sent a clear message that South Africa lacked the capability for missions of this nature on foreign soil.

Moving forward, Marais believes that South Africa should focus on bringing its soldiers home from the eastern DRC and on regenerating and reprioritising the country’s defence force to align with its constitutional mandate.

Speaking at a media conference after the 8th SA-EU Summit in Cape Town, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said the decision to withdraw SADC troops from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was based on the fact that a ceasefire in the DRC is now being embraced.

He said the negotiations currently underway, led by Angolan President João Lourenço and facilitated by Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, were a confidence-building measure that enabled SADC to make the decision to withdraw.

Ramaphosa expressed hope that the SADC troop withdrawal will be supported from a humanitarian perspective and that the ceasefire will hold. He said this is to ensure all parties, both state and non-state actors, collaborate to achieve lasting peace in the DRC.

The South African president acknowledged the situation remains precarious, but that SADC hopes to consolidate the peace process as the withdrawal progresses.

Ultimately, Ramaphosa said, the African Union will “seize this matter.” Both SADC and the East African Community seek a lasting ceasefire and peace in the DRC.