Southern African troops have started evacuating the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo where they had been stranded since a January offensive by the M23 armed group, a regional official told AFP Tuesday.
The 16-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) decided last month to end its deployment to the mineral-rich country after 17 of its soldiers were killed in the conflict.
"Today they started moving. It is part of the withdrawal plan, nothing unusual," the SADC official said, confirming reports in South African newspapers.
"Soldiers are moving by road to Tanzania," he said.
M23 in control of DRC's east
The Rwanda-backed M23 has taken control of large swathes of North and South Kivu provinces since the group resurfaced in 2021 and made major advances in recent months, including capturing the key provincial capitals of Goma and Bukavu.
Last week, Rwanda and the DRC signed a US-backed joint declaration committing to reach a draft peace agreement by May 2, but fighting has continued.
The SADC Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (SAMIDRC) – made up of soldiers from Malawi, Tanzania and South Africa – was sent to the region in December 2023 to help the government of the DRC, also a SADC member, restore peace and security.
The size of the deployment has never been made public, but analysts estimate it to number at least 1,300 troops.
'Adding to problems that already existed'
Rwanda's government has repeatedly criticised the presence of the SAMIDRC force in the DRC, saying the deployment was "adding to the problems that already existed."
Last month, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said he hoped the SAMIDRC withdrawal would "consolidate" efforts towards a truce.
Calls for evacuation had been mounting in South Africa – which contributes most of the troops – after 14 soldiers were killed in January.
Most were from the SADC mission but at least two were deployed as part of a separate United Nations peacekeeping force.
Soldiers from Malawi and Tanzania participating in the mission have also been killed.
