On May 8, at a summit in Windhoek, Namibia, the SADC countries, the Southern African Development Community, agreed to the principle of military support for the DRC. A force which must be deployed mainly in North Kivu, in the east of the country, where the M23 rebellion is present which has conquered part of the province. Force which must therefore be deployed while the force of the East African regional is already there. But the latter’s relations with the Congolese authorities have been strained in recent months and Kinshasa has hinted that the East African contingents could leave the country at the end of June when the SADC arrives in the province.
” The regional force has transformed itself into a buffer force and has demonstrated that it does not want to carry out its mandate In his statement, the Congolese Minister of Foreign Affairs did not leave much room for doubt as to the continuation of the mission of the East African force. “ We are preparing to welcome the SADC, continued Christophe Lutundula. And to ensure that contacts are already underway. Ia force could arrive in the DRC between June 15 and 20 “Said the Minister, knowing that the mandate of the EAC expires a few days later.
Contacts with other ministers, particularly those of Defence, but also with the executive secretary of the regional organization. As a reminder, President Tshisekedi was last week in Botswana, where the SADC headquarters are located, a headquarters he visited since he currently holds the presidency.
A source close to the government confirms that discussions are underway. But impossible to give more details on the composition of this force. We will have to wait for the meeting of the chiefs of staff, we are told. For the moment, the date of this meeting is not fixed, but it will be in ” the first half of June “, assures our interlocutor.
In the meantime, no break for regional diplomacy, the International Conference for the Great Lakes is to meet on June 3 and the African Union should theoretically oversee a quadripartite summit with the EAC, SADC, ICGLR and framework agreements Addis Ababa on the situation in eastern DRC in the coming weeks.
►Also read: Eastern DRC: Southern African Community pledges to deploy troops