EngRegional
SAMIDRC fighting war Congolese are abandoning
Since December 2023, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) deployed a Mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo (SAMIDRC), purportedly to assist the Congolese government in restoring peace and security in the eastern part of the country.
Since then, troops from
Malawi, Tanzania and South Africa have had a single mission; collaborate with
the Congolese army and their coalition, to fight and defeat the M23 rebellion.
The SADC troops estimated to
be 5,000 are fighting alongside the Congolese army coalition of the Burundian
national army, Eastern European mercenaries, the UN mission peacekeepers in DRC
(MONUSCO), Wazalendo militias, and the Rwandan genocidal militia, FDLR, in
eastern DRC.
When the Southern African
troops landed, the Congolese government saw them as their savior, coming to
help in the fight they failed for more than two years. Today, the same people they came to save and
help are abandoning them at the battle field, when fighting gets tough.
Several sources revealed that
on June 4, 11 soldiers from the Congolese army special unit, the Eagle Brigade
recently deployed from Lubumbashi to Nyiragongo territory, deserted from their
positions in Karangara in Katwa village.
It was reported that the
deserted soldiers got information about a planned attack against the M23
rebels, but preferred to leave than fight. They left behind more than 20 guns,
ammunitions, and military uniforms. Civilians in the region were disappointed
by this cowardly move since they had so much hope in their army, especially the
Eagle Brigade, which has elite soldiers who underwent months of high-intensity
training, and whose efforts to fight the M23 rebels had been hailed in the past
months.
This raised a very important
question; are Congolese soldiers giving up on their own fight, and have failed
to defeat the rebel group? Why do the Southern Africans think they can do
better?
The defection of the soldiers
coincided with deployment of more troops to SAMIDRC. On June 4, South African
and Malawian forces were deployed at Kasengesi and Mubambiro, in North Kivu, at
the frontlines.
Will SADC learn a lesson from
such cowardly behavior of the Congolese? Before its deployment, the Southern
Africa bloc knew that it’s military option to address eastern DRC conflicts contradicted
the spirit of the Nairobi and Luanda peace processes, but chose to fight the
M23 rebels just as Kinshasa wished.
It is now clear that the same government they were sent to help is abandoning them. Even after several months of deployment, SADC has not been able to bring peace and order in the area. The latest development should be a wake up call to the Southern African troops. They are fighting a war that they will lose.
