Harare – The Southern African Development Community (SADC) on Thursday resolved to withdraw troops in eastern Democratic Republic Congo (DRC) with immediate effect to pave way for peace talks.
The resolution was reached at an extra- ordinary summit in Harare that was attended by several Heads of State of government.
The summit unanimously agreed to have it’s peace mission, the SADC-Mission in DRC (SAMIDRC) to withdraw.
“Summit terminated the mandate of SAMIDRC and submitted a phased withdrawal of SAMIDRC troops from the DRC,” the SADC summit resolved.
The SADC summit said it is still “dedicated” for finding lasting peace in eastern DRC.
The M23 rebels took several towns and cities in offensives in the past weeks in a conflict that has killed hundreds of people.
Several soldiers from the SAMIDRC were killed while the Congolese forces withdraw as the war intensified.
The Kinshasa government led by President Felix Tshisekedi accuse Rwanda of arming rebels in DRC but President Paul Kagame of Rwanda has denied the accusations.
The mineral rich eastern DRC has been facing on and off conflict in the past years as the M23 rebels have remained active.
The SADC extra-ordinary summit was chaired by the body’s chair, President Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe.
The SADC and the East African Community (EAC) recently held discussions to find ways to end the conflict in eastern DRC.