A summit of Southern African Development Community (SADC) leaders held in Angola on Thursday, August 17, endorsed the deployment of a military force to DR Congo to restore peace and security in the country’s troubled eastern region.

SADC approved the military deployment in May and in July the leaders said the countries would start deploying troops in September.

Thursday’s summit "received an update on the security situation in the eastern DRC and endorsed the deployment of the SADC Mission in the DRC (SAMIDRC) to restore peace and security in the eastern DRC,” according to a statement.

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The summit attended by presidents, heads of state and representatives from 15 countries "reiterated the call to strengthen the coordination and harmonisation of peace initiatives” in eastern DR Congo, which was agreed in July at a meeting of four African regional blocs that discussed the DR Congo security crisis.

The Luanda and Nairobi processes – initiatives of the International Conference on Great Lakes Region and the East African Community, respectively – have been running since 2022 seeking to restore peace in eastern DR Congo.

The leaders in July suggested the African Union coordinate the four peace efforts within a joint framework that would report to the AU Peace and Security Council.

Eastern DR Congo already has troops from the East African Community and a United Nations peacekeeping mission has spent more than 20 years in the region that remains home to over 130 armed groups.

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There are more foreign troops in eastern DR Congo, which are under bilateral arrangements with the Congolese government.

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Multiple interventions have failed to end the decades of insecurity in eastern DR Congo, where armed groups have wreaked havoc and displaced millions of people.

The UN Secretary General recently said the UN mission in DR Congo would embark on the withdrawal from the country.