By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Arising from the increasing number of peacekeepers killed by M23 rebels in the ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Malawi’s President Lazarus Chakwera has ordered the immediate withdrawal of troops from the crisis zone.
Malawian troops are part of the ongoing peacekeeping mission put in place by the Southern African regional bloc’s military mission (SAMIDRC), who were deployed to DR Congo to help tackle the M23 rebels as part of defence cooperation.
It was reported that at least 20 peacekeepers, including 14 South Africans and three Malawians, were killed as M23 rebels last week captured the key city of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province.
But President Chakwera said the decision was to “honour the declaration of a ceasefire by the parties”, amidst the continuation of fighting.
The withdrawal of troops would “pave the way for their planned negotiations towards a lasting peace”, the Malawian leader said in a statement read on state TV on Wednesday.
The planned withdrawal was being “made in good faith”, Malawi’s Information Minister, Moses Kunkuyu, told newsmen.
He said a meeting of Southern African leaders last week in Tanzania, on the sidelines of the Africa Energy Summit, had passed a resolution “to call for a ceasefire from all parties in the conflict, just to pave the way for peaceful negotiations.”
“It is pursuant to that agreement that the President of Malawi has seen it fit to contribute to the peace-building effort by withdrawing troops from the region so that there is that peaceful negotiation.”
The Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group had on Monday declared a unilateral ceasefire “for humanitarian reasons”, which was due to start the following day.
However, fighting has since resumed, and the rebels have reportedly taken the mining town of Nyabibwe in the South Kivu province.
The Malawian President has been under pressure to withdraw his country’s forces from DR Congo in the wake of the deaths of peacekeepers.
Neighbouring South Africa has faced similar pressure, but President Cyril Ramaphosa has vowed to keep his troops in DR Congo, saying they are subject to the SAMIDRC mission, “which has operational timeframes and an end date.”
