DRC: Inviting SADC to fight M23 is a delusion

Author: Lindah Uwase

• 2023-02-27 05:30:00

When regional leaders met at the side-lines of the African Union summit in Ethiopia on February 17, they issued a communique recommending the immediate cessation of hostilities in the conflict-hit eastern DRC.

Two days after issuing the communique – which DRC president Felix Tshisekedi signed – his deputy chief of General Staff in charge of army operations, General Chiko Tshitambwe, announced that he was in talks with some member states of Southern African Development Community (SADC) to deploy forces in DRC to fight the M23 rebel group and Rwanda.

As usual, Kinshasa consistently does what is contrary to what it signs for in different gatherings of Heads of State that seek to find a permanent solution to the eastern DRC conflict that has lasted for nearly three decades marred with the persecution and killing of Kinyarwanda speaking Congolese.

Inviting SADC to war is simply wishful thinking. Here is why. For SADC to deploy forces in DRC, it would imply creation of a parallel approach since the East African Community (EAC), a sister bloc, already maintains an expanding force in eastern DRC.

Also, SADC is already focusing on its mission in Mozambique which is still far from being achieved. In fact, when SADC was asked to deploy in Mozambique, there were delays in the process and some countries weren’t able to provide the number of soldiers they had committed to giving. Can they suddenly be in a position to deploy in DRC? Doubtful.

Meanwhile, the mandate of the EAC regional force is centred on the peaceful restoration of normalcy in eastern DRC, and force can only be as a last resort. So far, the EAC regional force has recorded progress in overseeing M23 withdrawing from some territories which the Kinshasa government is unhappy with.

Kinshasa eventually invited mercenaries in the hope that they would strike the M23 but still, they haven’t achieved any progress. This implies that DRC is deliberately violating all agreements about the cessation of hostilities.

Inviting SADC as a fighting force, not a peace-making force, would only escalate conflicts in eastern DRC. 

It’s very obvious that SADC would not deploy forces that have a contrary mandate to that of the EAC regional force unless they consider clashing which is something no one wishes.

The only contribution SADC can make to the situation of the war-torn eastern DRC is to address concerns of the M23 rebels before getting into a war the real causes of which they possibly have little or no notion about.

Why has the M23 taken up arms? What is it looking for? Has it tried to negotiate with Kinshasa? These are the questions SADC should ask Kinshasa before engaging them on anything.

So long as Kinshasa keeps a blind eye on the existence of the Rwandan genocidal forces in the east, the growing hate speech against Kinyarwanda-speaking Congolese and integrating the FDLR militia into the national army, FARDC, it will be hard or impossible to restore normalcy in eastern DRC.

Kinyarwanda-speaking Congolese will not stop fighting until they are accorded their dignity, safety and right to citizenship.

They seem very determined to fight for their survival.

Fighting them while ignoring their legitimate concerns will never address the issues at hand. But addressing their concerns will go a long way in ensuring that that region enjoys peace.