On March 13, leaders of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) regional bloc signaled the end of its peacekeeping mandate in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) following the killing of more than a dozen peacekeepers by M23 rebels in January.

The country had been relying on the SADC Mission in the DRC, known as SAMIDRC, to neutralize the M23 rebel group in the country's conflict-hit east.

The bloc's decision to pull its mission came one day after mediators in Angola set a new round of peace talks between Congo and the Rwanda-backed rebel group.

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SAMIDRC had taken over from an East African Community (EAC) deployment and the United Nations Force Intervention Brigade, which had been in Congo for over two decades.

A little over a year after its deployment, SADC leaders announced a "phased withdrawal." That came after several sporadic incidents involving peacekeepers, including the deaths of three Tanzanian troops in a mortar explosion in April 2024.

But in late January, 10 South African soldiers and three Malawian soldiers died at the hands of rebels in the battle for Goma. Scores were injured as the conflict escalated.

"Perhaps there is a need to rethink the rules of engagement with regard to the peacekeepers," said Chimwemwe Tsitsi, a Malawi-based international relations expert.

Tsitsi told DW there has been a strategic shift by the peacekeepers in Congo.

"Perhaps the change in the approach from that of........

© Deutsche Welle