South Africa’s armed forces announced Thursday they had begun pulling their peacekeepers out of eastern Congo, a region now under the sway of rebel fighters.
According to the South African National Defense Force, the withdrawal began earlier this week. Troops are traveling through Rwanda into Tanzania, from where they’ll board flights home.
Malawi and Tanzania have also reportedly commenced their troop withdrawals. All three nations had contributed forces to a southern African peacekeeping mission. But after Rwanda-backed M23 rebels launched a sweeping offensive in late January and seized Goma—an eastern Congolese city of strategic importance—the peacekeepers found themselves cornered.
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The clashes in January proved costly: 14 South African and three Malawian soldiers were killed. In March, the regional bloc overseeing the mission decided to terminate the deployment ahead of schedule and repatriate the troops.
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“Safe passage and an escort for the peacekeepers and their equipment” is being provided by Rwanda, said Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe on X.
On Wednesday, the International Committee of the Red Cross said it began escorting hundreds of stranded Congolese soldiers, police, and their families from Goma back to the capital, Kinshasa.
The M23 now holds Goma and another major city in the east. UN experts say the rebel group is backed by roughly 4,000 Rwandan troops.
Congo and Rwanda, with mediation from Qatar and backing from the United States, say they are working toward a negotiated peace.
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