By McGeorge Mbare
The Southern African Development Community is set hold an extraordinary summit of heads of state and government today in Harare on the security situation concerning the eastern part of DR Congo which has an escalating conflict that has left 14 South African peace keepers dead.
In a statement, the SADC Secretariat confirmed that the heads of state will meet today at Zimbabwe ‘s capital Harare to discus the security situations of Goma in DR Congo.
“The Southern African Development Community (SADC) will convene an Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government on 30th January 2025 in Harare, Republic of Zimbabwe, to discuss security situation in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo,” the SADC Secretariat statement reads.
The summit is set to be chaired by the SADC Chairperson, President ED Mnangagwa.
“The Summit will be chaired by His Excellency Dr. Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, and Chairperson of SADC. The Summit follows the outcome of the Extraordinary Summit of the SADC Organ Troika plus the DRC and Troop Contributing Countries (TCCs) to the SADC Mission in the DRC (SAMIDRC), which was held on 28th January 2025 and was chaired by Her Excellency Dr. Samia Suluhu Hassan, the President of the United Republic of Tanzania and Chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics Defence and Security,” SADC Secretariat stated.
The SADC standing committee of senior officials and the SADC council of ministers will precede the summit.The situation in Goma in the east of DRC has gone worse in recent days as the M23 rebels have gained ground killing and displacing thousands.The DRC has long accused Rwanda for sponsoring M23 rebels , an accusation Kigali has flatly denied.