Story by Josephine Mugiyo, Diplomatic Correspondent
THE extraordinary SADC Organ Troika convened at the New Parliament building in Mt Hampden this Wednesday ahead of the Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government later in the day.
As the SADC Organ Troika met this Wednesday, several issues came up for discussion and the volatile situation in the eastern parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo took centre stage.
The meeting was chaired by the President of Zanzibar, Dr Hussein Mwinyi.
The eastern parts of the DRC which include North and South Kivu and Itari have continued to experience unrest for many years with armed groups establishing their operations.
The situation continues to pose a headache for SADC and hence it was top of the agenda as the SADC Organ Troika met.
“Especially when the mission will end in DRC. We will pay attention to the peace in DRC paying attention that there are still some armed groups that make killings and they make it unstable to give humanitarian aid. To make sure efforts are fruitful, we need to have strategies in place. We are always going to support diplomatic efforts that seek to waver conflict that is between DRC and Rwanda,” said Dr Mwinyi.
SADC Executive Secretary, Mr Elias Magosi said the DRC situation requires the bloc to be vigilant.
He said, “Notwithstanding the incremental progress, the overall security and humanitarian situation in the DRC is still concerning, and requires constant monitoring and vigilance. Armed groups continue to carry out sporadic attacks on the Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC) and civilians, leading to dire humanitarian conditions. It is disheartening to note that, during the period from June to August 2024, an estimated 6.9 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), most of whom have migrated to the areas of SAMIDRC due to safer environment created by the SAMIDRC presence and interventions.”
The Troika also considered the future of the SADC mission in the DRC, which is coming to an end on the 15th of December
