Top army officials from the southern African regional bloc visited the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Saturday, amid ongoing fighting between government troops and M23 rebels. The chiefs of defence staff of Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries held a high-level meeting in the city of Goma, capital of the embattled North Kivu province. He added that the visit by the chiefs of staff was “a strong signal of the commitment and determination of SADC and Burundi alongside the DRC”. It was their first coordination meeting since the deployment of SADC troops in North Kivu and came two days after SADC armoured vehicles were hit during an M23 attack. But some residents of Goma were not sure that the visit would make a difference in terms of the ongoing fighting.

Source: The North Africa Journal March 03, 2024 12:28 UTC