Southern African leaders back DRC as Rwandan-backed M23 rebels advance

Key topics.SADC reaffirms support for DRC against Rwanda-backed M23 rebels.M23 rebels rapidly advance south toward Bukavu, a key mineral hub.UN warns of escalating regional war as multiple nations join the fight..Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here..The seventh BizNews Conference, BNC#7, is to be held in Hermanus from March 11 to 13, 2025. The 2025 BizNews Conference is designed to provide an excellent opportunity for members of the BizNews community to interact directly with the keynote speakers, old (and new) friends from previous BNC events – and to interact with members of the BizNews team. Register for BNC#7 here..If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up for the BizNews channel here..By Godfrey Marawanyika and Michael J. Kavanagh___STEADY_PAYWALL___.Southern African heads of state re-affirmed their support for Democratic Republic of Congo in its fight against Rwanda-backed rebels who continue to take new territory in the east of the country. .The Southern African Development Community held an emergency meeting Friday to discuss the crisis in Congo, where the M23 rebel group overwhelmed the army and peacekeepers from SADC and the United Nations to take the city of Goma this week. .The bloc announced its "unwavering commitment to continue supporting the DRC in its pursuit of safeguarding its independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity," according to a statement given to reporters in Harare, Zimbabwe. The group also called for "an immediate joint summit" between SADC and the East African Community to discuss the conflict. .The fighting risks expanding into a regional war, as troops from multiple African nations clash in the mineral-rich provinces of eastern Congo. .The SADC force has lost 16 soldiers from South Africa and Malawi and taken more than 70 casualties in the recent violence, Elias Magosi, SADC executive secretary, told the summit..Read more: NSN: Reports of mass surrender to Rwandan-backed rebels of SA troops in DRC.Rwandan President Paul Kagame and his South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa, have traded threatening statements over the conflict. Kagame entirely denies Rwanda backs the rebellion or has soldiers in Congo..M23 forces are "rapidly" advancing south toward the trading hub of Bukavu, capital of South Kivu province, the UN said Thursday. .Bukavu, located along Congo's border with Rwanda, is an important transit point for minerals including gold and tin ore.."It is very lucrative for whoever controls this area," said Hélène Helbig de Balzac, a due diligence expert at Hive, an organization advocating for responsible mineral sourcing..Thousands of youth in the city have been registering with militias to combat the advancing rebels, UN-backed Radio Okapi reported Friday. .UN peacekeepers withdrew from South Kivu in June at Congo's request, slowly drawing down a mission that began more than 25 years ago at the height of a series of wars that left millions of people dead..The province also borders Burundi, and troops from that country are fighting alongside the Congolese army against the M23, the International Crisis Group said Tuesday in a statement. .The ICG warned there's "a real risk" that Rwanda may try to topple the Burundian government next, citing "regional diplomats." .The M23 says it's protecting the rights of Congolese ethnic Tutsis and other speakers of the Rwandan language in the country, as well as fighting an ethnic Hutu rebel group in Congo with links to the perpetrators of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, which killed more than 800,000 people, mainly Tutsis..Congo's government maintains the M23 and Rwanda are after its mineral wealth..'Deeply Concerned' .The UN is "deeply concerned" by the rebel advance, according to Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.."There are reports of Rwanda Defence Force cross-border movements in that direction" as well, Dujarric told reporters in New York on Thursday. .Corneille Nangaa, leader of the Congo River Alliance rebel coalition that includes M23, told reporters in Goma on Thursday that the M23 "was here to stay" and reiterated a call to march on Congo's capital, Kinshasa. The two cities are about 1,000 miles apart..Uganda's army said in a statement Friday that it will "strengthen defenses" and adopt a "forward defensive posture in its area of operation" in eastern Congo, north of M23 territory. .The Ugandan soldiers aim to "deter and deny the numerous other negative armed groups operating in eastern DRC from exploiting the situation, and to safeguard and secure Uganda's interests," it said. Uganda has for years fought alongside the Congolese army against armed groups across the border that oppose its government..More than 100 armed groups are active in eastern Congo, fighting over land, resources and political representation. .Kagame blames Congo's inability to control the region as the reason for the current uptick in violence. .Read also:.🔒 The Economist: SA's floundering army in the DRC a parable of the rainbow nation🔒 FT: SA warns of war after 13 peacekeepers killed in Rwanda-backed M23 attackThe high human cost of DRC's war for riches.© 2025 Bloomberg L.P.

Southern African leaders back DRC as Rwandan-backed M23 rebels advance

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