South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced Monday that South Africa will contribute a substantial force of 2,900 troops from the South African National Defense Force to combat armed groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). South Africa said that this deployment is crucial to fulfilling South Africa’s obligations to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and to providing much needed support to the DRC during its ongoing civil unrest. The deployment will continue until December 2024.

The DRC has experienced turmoil in recent months. UN peacekeeping missions have remained throughout the nation since 1999 to manage casualties and displaced people as a result of the strife between the government and the 23 March Movement rebel group. Although the UN said that clashes between the government and the rebel group are becoming stronger and more frequent, the DRC asked the UN Security Council to gradually withdraw troops in December 2023 instead of the planned withdrawal at the end of 2024.

The SADC hosted a summit in June 2023 to bring peace and stability to the eastern part of the DRC. In an official statement, the SADC expressed concern “over the prevailing insecurity and humanitarian situation in the DRC, [which is] exacerbated by the criminal activities of the armed and terrorist groups.” The SADC also “call[ed] for the establishment of humanitarian corridors to facilitate humanitarian assistance.”

Other parties present at the summit include the UN, the East African Community and the Economic Community of Central African States. The Joint Framework of Peace Initiatives in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo was adopted upon the summit. It aims to promote existing peace initiatives with clearly outlined responsibilities and timelines.