The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has decided to extend the mandate of its peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo by one year amid continued hostilities in the country's eastern region, Xinhua reports.
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The SADC Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (SAMIDRC) was deployed in 2023 to support the Congolese government&039;s quest to restore peace and security in eastern DR Congo.
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A communique issued Wednesday at the end of an extraordinary summit of SADC heads of state and government held in Harare, Zimbabwe, noted an escalation of hostilities in eastern DR Congo. The communique said the extension of the peacekeeping mission continues "the regional response to address the prevailing unstable security situation in eastern DRC."
Opening the summit, Zimbabwean President and current SADC Chairperson Emmerson Mnangagwa said the security and humanitarian situation in DR Congo has deteriorated.
"We have a duty to strengthen our resolve and chart a way forward that will see us win this fight for peace and the rights of the people in eastern DRC to a good life and well-being, development, justice as well as strong institutions," he said.
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Four other heads of state from Botswana, DR Congo, Madagascar, and Mozambique, attended the summit, while the majority of leaders from the 16-member regional group sent representatives. The communique also welcomed the continued efforts of the African Union Peace and Security Council and the United Nations Security Council in exploring various options to support the SAMIDRC.
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In an interview with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Rwanda’s Minister of State for Regional Cooperation, Gen. (Rtd) James Kabarebe last month shed light on the genesis and cause of the strained relations between Rwanda and DR Congo, accusing the Congolese government of maintaining a hostile stance that has fuelled tensions for decades. Kabarebe addressed allegations that Rwanda supports armed groups in DR Congo, highlighting the historical backdrop of mutual mistrust that has shaped the countries’ relationship.
Kabarebe spoke about accusations that Rwanda has aided the M23 rebel group, which operates in DR Congo’s North Kivu Province. In early 2022, the administration of President Félix Tshisekedi accused Rwanda of backing the rebel group, which had, the previous year, resumed fighting in the area.
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Kabarebe rejected the claims, stating that M23 fighters, led by Gen. Sultani Makenga, do not come from Rwanda. The M23, a rebel group that resurfaced in November 2021 after nearly a decade of inactivity, has since been the focus of international attention. However, M23 remains committed to a "peaceful solution” to the conflict in eastern DR Congo, according to rebel spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka. In a July interview with Harvard scholar Bojana Coulibaly, Kanyuka said M23 is a broad-based Congolese movement, contrary to popular clichés that it is a Tutsi-led rebel group supported by Rwanda.
"Rwanda has no hand in supporting M23,” Kabarebe clarified. "If you look closely, you’ll see that M23 operates independently of Rwanda, and their leaders aren’t based here.”
Highlighting the shared history between Rwanda and DR Congo, Kabarebe suggested that the two countries could have enjoyed a closer bond.
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"We share a history, both good and bad, that could easily bring us together as allies,” he said. "History offers choices. It can either build friendship or destroy it. It’s simply a matter of choosing.”
Kabarebe explained that Rwanda and DR Congo’s intertwined past dates to the Belgian colonial era, when both nations were under the same colonial administration, Rwanda-Urundi.
Why can’t EAC and SADC talk about problem?
In early 2023, the East African Community (EAC) deployed a regional force to the conflict-hit region, leading to a ceasefire from March to September 2023. However, in December that year, the Congolese government expelled the EAC regional force and replaced it with the SADC mission which is operating under an offensive mandate. The East African Community Regional Force (EACRF)completed its exit from Goma, capital of DR Congo’s North Kivu Province, on December 21, 2023, citing a mixture of successes and drawbacks during its stay in the unstable country.
About four months later, in an interview with NTV Kenya, President Paul Kagame explained how he was surprised by the development and "how the countries involved can be involved on such a glaringly wrong side.”
Pointing at the fact that the EACRF’s mission was to create a ceasefire, monitor it and allow political processes to take place to resolve the outstanding issues, Kagame noted that its expulsion without explanation made EAC’s existence questionable.
"Why can’t even people have a discussion about it? Why can’t the EAC and SADC talk about whatever problem there is and find a way of resolving it?” he posed.
Zeroing in on the causes of DR Congo conflicts, Kagame protested the tendency of blaming neighbouring countries for the failures of the government in Kinshasa.
"In eastern DRC, the problems have a very long history. People just scratch the surface and never go deep to understand why we are having this thing we are seeing in front of us,” he said.