SADC leaders agree to joint meeting with EAC over eastern DRC conflict
The decision follows a proposal from the East African Community (EAC) during its summit earlier in the week, signalling an effort to align regional approaches to the conflict.
Southern Africa and East Africa to Meet Over Congo's War—But Will It Matter?
Mwangi Maina
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SADC leaders agree o joint meeting with EAC over eastern DRC conflict
Southern African leaders, meeting in Harare on Friday, have agreed to hold talks with their East African counterparts to address the escalating crisis in eastern Congo.
The decision follows a proposal from the East African Community (EAC) during its summit earlier in the week, signalling an effort to align regional approaches to the conflict.
The urgency is clear. The M23 rebel group has overrun Goma, a strategic city in the mineral-rich eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), dealing a blow to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) military mission deployed to support Kinshasa.
In the battle for Goma, the rebels killed 16 peacekeepers—13 from South Africa, three from Malawi under the SADC Mission in the DRC (SAMIDRC), and one from Paraguay serving under the UN peacekeeping force, MONUSCO.
The Harare summit brought together Zimbabwean President and SADC chair Emmerson Mnangagwa, South Africa's Cyril Ramaphosa, Mozambique's Daniel Chapo, Madagascar's Andri Rajoelina, Tanzania's Samia Suluhu Hassan, and Botswana's Duma Boko.
Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema, Angola's João Lourenço, and DRC's Félix Tshisekedi joined virtually, while other member states sent representatives.
The joint SADC-EAC meeting, now in the works, seeks to bridge a fundamental divide: the EAC advocates for direct negotiations between Kinshasa and M23, while SADC has taken a hardline stance, deploying troops to eradicate the rebel movement.
The DRC straddles both blocs, as do Tanzania, which has forces in the region, and Burundi, Uganda, and Rwanda—all deeply enmeshed in the crisis.
Tensions between regional heavyweights are also complicating diplomacy.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame, accused of backing M23, has denied the claims and publicly rebuked South Africa's Ramaphosa during this week's EAC meeting chaired by Kenya's President William Ruto.
Kagame dismissed Ramaphosa as a dishonest broker, accusing Pretoria of escalating the conflict without engaging Kigali.
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