Four years into a protracted war between the DRC and the Rwandan-supported M23 rebel group, the eastern DRC is flooded with national, regional, and international military actors. Aside from the Congolese army, there are Burundian troops, Ugandan troops fighting alongside the Congolese army against the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), French and Romanian mercenaries hired by the Congolese government, a coalition of Congolese armed groups opportunistically allied with Kinshasa against the M23, Rwandan Defense Forces (RDF) clandestinely supporting the M23 and UN peacekeepers deployed with the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO). Into this hypermilitarized environment SADC has deployed its own regional force: the SADC Mission in the DRC, composed of South African, Tanzanian, and Malawian troops. Since December 2023, SAMIDRC has been very slowly building up its force, which is supposed to count a full complement of 4,800 troops when fully deployed. Five months into the mission, less than 1000 troops are on the ground.
Speakers
- Stephanie Wolters, Director, Okapi Consulting
- Steven Gruzd, Head: African Governance and Diplomacy Programme, and Africa-Russia Project, SAIIA
We look forward to your attendance and participation.