DRCONGO-SADC-UNREST

Lieutenant General Geoffrey Choongo Zyeele (L), Zambia Army Commander, Rudzani Maphwanya (2nd L) Chief of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), Professor Kula Ishmael Theletsane (2nd R), Director of the Organ on Politics, Defense and Security Affairs of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) listens to Major General lbrahim Michael Mhona (R), Representative of Chief of Defence Forces of United RepublicÊof Tanzania as he holds the papers carrying the ceasefire agreement between the troops of the SADC Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (SAMIDRC) and the M23 armed group during the signature ceremony in Goma on March 28, 2025. The anti-government armed group M23 reached an agreement with SADC on March 28, 2025 in Goma, a city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) it has controlled since late January, on the withdrawal of the military force deployed by this bloc of southern African countries. In mid-March, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) ended the mandate of this regional force, SamiRDC, deployed since December 2023 to "fight," alongside the DRC army, armed groups operating in the east of the country, notably the M23, which has conquered vast areas since taking up arms again in 2021 against the government in Kinshasa. (Photo by Jospin Mwisha / AFP) (Photo by JOSPIN MWISHA/AFP via Getty Images)