The withdrawal of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will be carried out by road.
This is a point arising from discussions on a revised withdrawal plan, during a meeting held last Friday (April 11th), attended by the heads of the three defense forces that provided troops and equipment to the mission. These are Generals Rudzani Maphwanya (South African National Defence Force), Jacob Mkunda (Tanzanian People’s Defence Force – TPDF), and Paul Phiri (Malawi Defence Force). Also present at the TPDF headquarters in Dar es Salaam for the meeting was Professor Kula Theletsane, Director of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Affairs.
The initial deployment of the mission, under the acronym SAMIDRC, began in December 2023 in eastern DRC, under the command of South African Major General Monwabisi Dyakopu. Its end, followed by a gradual withdrawal, was made public by the regional bloc on March 13th. This announcement came two months after the three troop-contributing countries to SAMIDRC reported combat deaths against the M23 (March 23 Movement), with South Africa being the most affected – 14 casualties.
On February 6th, two weeks after the deaths in the fighting around Sake and Goma in North Kivu province, Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera ordered his soldiers to begin preparing for withdrawal from Goma and its surroundings in eastern DRC.
A one-page statement from SAMIDRC dated April 11th indicated a delay in the reopening of Goma airport, stating that this “could lead to further delays” in the SAMIDRC withdrawal. It also specified that the withdrawal would be by road from Goma to Chato, Tanzania, via Rwanda, and added that the SADC Secretariat would “engage” Rwanda to facilitate the safe passage of SAMIDRC troops.
The three Tactical Cooperation Centers (TCCs) have been tasked with strengthening withdrawal planning with experts in operations, intelligence, and logistics. They will be responsible for conducting reconnaissance and developing withdrawal instructions.
SADC planning elements will guide the SAMIDRC force commander in formulating a withdrawal plan that respects the directives authorized by the TCCs.
“Demanding an immediate withdrawal of SAMIDRC troops means they cannot be airlifted. Should they leave via Kigali? What about all the equipment? Plans for an orderly and phased departure of SAMIDRC are rapidly collapsing.”
A withdrawal by land complicates the task for SAMIDRC troops, as they did not want a long logistical route through Rwanda. The withdrawal is slow, the roads are rough, and Rwanda’s agreement is essential, Wingrin emphasized.
With Cyril Mokoena
