By Thandiwe Garusa
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is set to hold another extraordinary summit virtually on Thursday to discuss the security situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The summit will be led by SADC Chair, President Emmerson Mnangagwa. This will be the third extraordinary summit convened on the same agenda within three months.
SADC held an extraordinary summit in January and later participated in a joint East and Southern African mediation effort last month, during which regional leaders called for a ceasefire and the withdrawal of “uninvited foreign armed forces” from Congolese territory.
However, tensions remain high despite diplomatic and military efforts to end the hostilities.
“SADC will convene an extraordinary summit of Heads of State and Government on March 13, 2025, in a virtual format to discuss the security situation in the DRC.
“The summit will receive updates on the latest security developments in the DRC and deliberate on recommendations from the Extraordinary SADC Organ Troika Summit, which was held on March 6, 2025.
“The SADC Summit is responsible for setting the overall policy direction and overseeing the functions of the Community, making it the primary policy-making institution of SADC,” the statement from SADC secretariat said Tuesday.
According to the Congolese authorities, over 8,500 people have been killed since the fighting escalated at the beginning of the year.
The conflict has also resulted in massive population displacements and a worsening humanitarian crisis.
The conflict between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) government and the March 23 Movement (M23) dates back to the 1990s but has significantly intensified this year.
The M23 claims to be fighting for minority rights, while the DRC government accuses the Rwanda-backed rebels of seeking to seize control of the mineral-rich eastern region.