SA army-led mission to the DRC extended

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Mission in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (SAMIDRC) – led by the South African National Defence Force – will be expected to fend off M23 rebels for another year. News24 reports that an extraordinary SADC summit in Harare ‘extended the mandate of the SAMIDRC by one year, continuing the regional response to address the prevailing unstable security situation in eastern DRC’, it said in a communiqué. SAMIDRC, which includes Tanzanian and Malawian armed forces, arrived in North Kivu in December last year, ahead of general elections in the DRC that saw President Felix Tshisekedi re-elected. SAMIDRC will now stay on until December 2025, subject to review. The DRC also retained the services of the Burundian military on a bilateral agreement in the same area.

Full News24 report