Days after the East African Community (EAC) met over escalating conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), leaders from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) held an extraordinary summit on Friday to discuss the recent developments in the region.
“Escalating hostilities in eastern Congo have created a dire situation. We meet here to seek a lasting solution to end the challenges facing the DRC people,” Zimbabwean president Emmerson Mnangagwa said in his opening statement at the meeting, held outside Harare in Zimbabwe.
“People in eastern Congo have suffered for far too long. While we pause to mourn our loss, our resolve to ensure collective security cannot be shaken.”
The Zimbabwean leader, who currently chairs the rotating leadership of SADC, confirmed the bloc’s commitment to peace in the DRC while stressing how the conflict in the mineral-rich area had started to weigh heavily on diplomatic relations throughout the region.
This comes after 13 SADC troops from South Africa and three from Malawi were killed last week in clashes with fighters belonging to the March-23 (M23) movement.
Most governments throughout the region – including South Africa – and many in the Global North believe that M23 is propped up and supplied with weapons by the Rwandan government – a charge which Kigali denies.
In recent days, South African president Cyril Ramaphosa and his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, appeared to be headed for a historic fallout over this charge, with Ramaphosa demanding a ceasefire from Kagame’s government and Kagame openly threatening South Africa with retaliation in response.

HAPPY FACES HIDING CRISIS … The meeting of SADC leaders in Harare yielded only limited results for the time being. Photo: DW
The Rwandan leader accused Ramaphosa of lying and distorting the facts on the ground, adding that “South Africa is in no position to take on the role of a peacemaker or mediator”.
“And if South Africa prefers confrontation, Rwanda will deal with the matter in that context any day,” Kagame’s statement concluded.
Ramaphosa meanwhile stressed that “South Africa’s military presence in the eastern DRC is not a declaration of war against any country or state,” demanding “the reversal of territorial expansion by the M23” and “the exit of external forces from the DRC”.
Kagame, who has led Rwanda for 25 years, is used to a more accommodating rhetoric from the regional powerhouse, South Africa.
Former South African president Thabo Mbeki once urged the DRC not to treat M23 as invading foreigners from Rwanda but to listen actively to their grievances.
M23 consists mainly of members of the Tutsi clan, who were moved to present-day DRC during the partition of Africa in the 1880s, while a large part of the clan went to present-day Rwanda.
With Tutsis also being the main victims of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, any criticism against the ethnic group is typically met with resentment by Kigali; Kagame himself is Tutsi.
While Ramaphosa attended the meeting in Harare, DRC leader Felix Tshisekedi failed to show up in person and was reportedly following the proceedings online, which may have further fanned the flames of anger in Kigali.
As hostilities appear to be mounting, experts are increasingly calling for unity and a peaceful end to the conflict. Numerous humanitarian organisations, as well as several United Nations (UN) agencies, have described the situation in areas around the city of Goma in the eastern DRC as “critical,” with reports of citizens going days without vital supplies.
Francis Akili, coordinator of the Kinshasa-based humanitarian non-governmental organisation Action Asante, told DW that everyone in the eastern DRC is affected by the recent escalation, especially those in the North Kivu province:
“As a humanitarian worker, I can confirm that the crisis has led to a severe lack of basic necessities such as water and electricity, exacerbating an already critical situation. This not only impacts daily survival but also creates a deep sense of fear and anxiety among the population, leading to widespread psychological distress.”
At the same time, fighting between the DRC military and its allies and the M23 movement has intensified once more in recent days, with M23 rebels declaring that they hope to march on Kinshasa and take over the government.
UN agencies confirm that large swathes of the local population continue to suffer multiple instances of trauma. Speaking from Geneva on Friday, UN Human Rights spokesperson Jeremy Laurence said hostilities had expanded towards South Kivu following the M23 takeover of Goma.
“Reports indicate that M23 has progressed further south towards Bukavu. Since the start of the crisis, bombs have struck at least two IDP [internally displaced person] sites, causing civilian casualties,” he said.
“We have also documented summary executions of at least 12 people by M23 between 26 and 28 January. Our office has also documented cases of conflict-related sexual violence by the army and allied Wazalendo fighters in Kalehe territory. We are verifying reports that 52 women were raped by Congolese troops in South Kivu, including alleged reports of gang rape.”
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk agreed in a statement that the latest escalation could result in a further spike of sexual violence being used as a weapon of war.
Harare-based political analyst Dereck Goto told DW that the EAC and SADC need to join forces to demand an end to the conflict in eastern Congo, since the DRC is a member of both organisations.
“That should also include asking Rwanda not to support M23 and fortifying governance structures in DRC so that it is able to reach out to people in Goma,” he said.
Akili agrees that the EAC and SADC need to work together to push the warring parties to put down their arms, adding that the suffering has been worsened by thousands of people in eastern Congo being displaced due to the conflict since the beginning of the year.
At the end of the summit, leaders agreed that they would indeed convene with the EAC as a matter of urgency in a bid to resolve the situation, though little more is known at present.
The UN Human Rights Office meanwhile confirmed that it continues to receive urgent requests from civilians for protection, and that it was working with other UN agencies and their partners to ensure their safety.
– DW
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