Rwanda grants SADC troops safe passage from DR Congo conflict zone
The mission encountered significant setbacks, including the loss of 20 soldiers and being pinned down by M23 fighters. A deal struck in March between SADC military chiefs and M23 to allow safe passage out of Goma later collapsed, with rebels accusing SADC of permitting incursions by Congolese government forces (FARDC), Wazalendo militias, and other anti-M23 factions.
Rwanda has agreed to allow Southern African Development Community (SADC) forces stationed in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) safe passage through its territory, marking a rare diplomatic turn in the fraught relations between Kigali and the regional bloc.
Rwanda’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Olivier Nduhungirehe, confirmed on Thursday that SADC had formally requested permission to exit via Rwandan territory—a month after the bloc resolved to withdraw its troops from the volatile eastern region of the DRC.
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The SADC mission, known as SAMIDRC, had been deployed ostensibly to neutralise M23 rebels in North Kivu, but had struggled amid operational challenges, political tensions, and heavy casualties.
SAMIDRC was led by South Africa, with troops drawn from Malawi, Zimbabwe, and Tanzania. President Paul Kagame had previously criticised the mission, accusing it of siding with actors violating peace processes, a stance that widened the rift between Rwanda and Pretoria.
The mission encountered significant setbacks, including the loss of 20 soldiers and being pinned down by M23 fighters. A deal struck in March between SADC military chiefs and M23 to allow safe passage out of Goma later collapsed, with rebels accusing SADC of permitting incursions by Congolese government forces (FARDC), Wazalendo militias, and other anti-M23 factions.
This deterioration in trust further undermined planned efforts to rehabilitate Goma airport—a project SAMIDRC had agreed to undertake in exchange for safe withdrawal.
South Africa, wary of a repeat of past humiliations, had been reluctant to exit through Rwanda. Pretoria was reportedly concerned about the possibility of its troops being subjected to public searches—similar to an incident involving Romanian mercenaries detained by Rwandan forces in the region.
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