African leaders announced the withdrawal of thousands of troops from South Africa, Tanzania, and Malawi who were sent to quell insurgencies in mineral-rich eastern Congo, where M23 rebels have killed some of the peacekeepers while overrunning the region this year.
Troops from the three countries were sent in 2023 under the banner of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) but public opposition to the deployment has surged since 14 South African and three Malawian peacekeepers were killed by the rebels in January.
The decision was announced after a virtual meeting of the 16-member bloc, which also includes Congo, and came a day after Angola announced it would host peace talks next week between the Congolese government and the M23 rebels.
No timetable was announced for the pullout of troops, who have numbered up to 3,000, but the SADC said in a statement that it would be a “phased withdrawal.”
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