BLANTYRE, Malawi
Malawi's President Lazarus
Chakwera has ordered his defence forces to begin preparations for a withdrawal
of its troops from the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Troops under SAMIDRC were deployed on December 15, 2023 to support the DR Congo government restore peace and security in the eastern DRC.
The troops are part of a
contingent of soldiers from the Southern African regional bloc (SAMIDRC)
deployed in eastern DR Congo to neutralise armed groups following the exit of
the East African Community Regional Force (EACRF) in December 2023.
"President Chakwera has
ordered the MDF (Malawi Defense Force) commander to begin preparations for the
withdrawal of Malawian troops... to honour the declaration of a ceasefire by
the warring parties there and to pave the way for their planned negotiations
towards a lasting peace," the government said.
The M23 rebels announced late
on Monday that it would implement a unilateral ceasefire starting on
Tuesday
The group, backed by thousands
of troops from neighbouring Rwanda, seized Goma, the main city in eastern DRC,
last week, with the United Nations estimating 900 people were killed, while
hundreds of thousands have been displaced.
The order follows the demand
by various stakeholders who advised Chakwera to withdraw from the war because
it is not in the best interest of Malawi.
No comments:
Post a Comment