Reports reaching Taarifa Investigative desk indicate that South African troops that began arriving in Goma on Thursday immediately were given DRC army uniforms a move that has drawn criticisms.
The spokesperson for the military governor of North Kivu, Lieutenant-Colonel Njike Kaiko confirmed the presense of SADC troops on Congolese soil this Friday.
The troops under Southern African Development Community (SADC) are expected to fight alongside the Congolese forces and FDLR against the M23 rebels that have captured vast parts of the eastern region.
This advance team is made up of South African military men and women. The latter came with an offensive mandate differently from the East African Community (EAC) regional force, some sources report.
However, neither the SADC nor the FARDC have commented on the mandate of this mission.
The SADC had already deployed its first command officers to Goma a few days ago.
The Status of Forces Agreement between SADC and DRC indicates that the SADC Mission will be deployed for an initial 12 months to “neutralise negative forces and armed groups” in Eastern DRC and protect vital infrastructure and civilian populations under imminent threats of attacks.
Deployment of the SADC troops follows the recent total withdrawal of the East African Community regional force that had been in the country since November 2022 at the invitation of DRC authorities.
However, President Felix Tshisekedi and congolese accused the EAC force of cohabiting with the rebels rather than forcing them to lay down arms.
Late last month, the EAC said the DRC, which is a member of the bloc, had decided not to renew the force’s mandate beyond December 8.
MONUSCO has also been accused of ineffectiveness and Kinshasa has demanded it start next month to make an “orderly” but “accelerated” departure.
The UN force comprises around 14,000 peacekeepers, deployed almost exclusively in the east of the country.
SADC Troops Deployment Dilema
Some countries like Namibia already signaled they have no resources for that and therefore they will not be sending any troops.
Local armed groups are still clashing, leaving thousands of the local population trapped in refugee camps.
In its latest statement, the M23 accused the local army FARDC of teaming up with other armed groups and mercenaries to commit atrocities against civilians and have vowed to defend themselves against similar attacks.
