Mnangagwa to Chair SADC Summit on DRC Crisis

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HARARE, Zimbabwe – President Emmerson Mnangagwa is set to preside over an Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government in Harare on Friday, focusing on the deteriorating security situation in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

As the chairperson of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Mnangagwa has reaffirmed the bloc’s commitment to addressing the crisis and taking decisive action to restore stability in the resource-rich region.

Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister, Professor Amon Murwira, confirmed that the summit will bring together leaders from all SADC member states to deliberate on the escalating violence. “As you know, there are negative developments in the east of the DRC, a lot of violence and conflict.

The summit will allow Heads of State and Government to debate and make decisions on the peace efforts for the Eastern DRC,” said Murwira. He emphasised that any instability in the SADC region threatens economic development, making peace a top priority for the bloc.

The summit follows a meeting of the SADC Organ Troika plus the DRC and Troop Contributing Countries (TCCs) to the SADC Mission in the DRC (SAMIDRC), which was held earlier this week. A communiqué from the SADC Secretariat confirmed that the summit will be chaired by Mnangagwa and builds on discussions led by Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who heads the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence, and Security Cooperation.

Ahead of the high-level summit, meetings of the SADC Standing Committee of Senior Officials and the SADC Council of Ministers will take place to prepare recommendations. The urgency of the discussions comes as fighting between peacekeeping forces and the M23 rebel group in eastern Congo has claimed at least 17 lives, including 13 South African National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers, as well as troops from Malawi and Uruguay. Reports indicate that the casualty count may rise.

Director for International Communication Services in the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Richard Mahomva, stated that the convening of the summit underscores SADC’s urgent response to regional instability. The conflict has intensified in recent weeks, with M23 rebels advancing towards Goma, a city home to more than one million people. The fighting has triggered a humanitarian crisis, with over 400,000 people displaced in North and South Kivu provinces near the Rwandan border. The UN refugee agency has reported increasing needs as families flee their homes in search of safety.

SADC leaders are expected to adopt measures aimed at curbing the violence and stabilising the region, reinforcing the bloc’s role in peacekeeping and conflict resolution in central Africa.