South African President Cyril Ramaphosa ordered on Monday, February 12, the deployment of 2,900 members of the South African National Defence Forces to the Democratic Republic of Congo to combat illegal armed groups in the eastern part of the country.

On its X account, the South African Presidency stated: "This is within the international obligation of South Africa towards the mission of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and to support the DRC."

It further specifies that "The employment will cover the period from December 15, 2023, to December 15, 2024, and has been authorized in accordance with the provisions of section 201 (2) (c) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. The budgeted expenditure for the deployment amounts to just over 2 billion rand. These expenses will not impact the provisions for regular maintenance and emergency repairs of the defense forces."

For South Africa, the obligation to provide troops to the SADC mission in the DRC is incumbent upon all SADC member states.

On November 17, 2023, the Government had signed the Agreement on the status of the SADC force to be deployed in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Congolese Government thus undertook to provide this force with diplomatic facilities related to this type of intervention.

Commanded by South African Major General Monwabisi Dyakopu, the SADC force in the Democratic Republic of Congo (SAMIDRC) has the mission to support the Congolese Government in its efforts to restore peace and security in the east of the DRC, which has seen an increase in conflicts and instability posed by the resurgence of armed groups.

Boni Tsala