South African troops withdrawing from the conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have begun assembling in Tanzania, and the defence chief said that most should return home this month.
General Rudzani Maphwanya said on Sunday that under the phased withdrawal that started on April 29, the troops are to exit the DRC via Rwanda by road before entering Tanzania.
From there, they will return to South Africa by sea and air by the end of May, he said.
The soldiers are part of a regional Southern African Development Community (SADC) force that deployed to the eastern DRC in December 2023 during a resurgence of the M23 rebels.
The M23 now controls swathes of territory in the mineral-rich region.
Thirteen trucks with 57 members of the SADC peacekeeping force (SAMIDRC) had already gathered at an assembly point in Tanzania, Maphwanya told reporters.
The next group was scheduled for withdrawal next week, he said.
"The movement from Tanzania to (South Africa) will be by air for personnel and by sea for cargo," he said.
"Most of the personnel will be nearly complete in South Africa by end of May 2025, except for those who have to oversee the shipping part of the equipment."
SADC decided to end its SAMIDRC mission in mid-March after 17 of its soldiers –– most of them South Africans –– were killed in M23 offensives in January. They have been stranded there since.
The grouping confirmed last week the start of the withdrawal but gave no details.
On April 30, a separate evacuation began of hundreds of DRC soldiers and police trapped for months in United Nations bases in Goma after the eastern DRC city was taken by M23 rebels, the International Committee of the Red Cross said.
M23 rebel group is tightening its hold on eastern DRC, capturing major cities. Decades of conflict, fuelled by ethnic tensions, regional rivalries, and a trove of resources, have left Kinshasa struggling to maintain control.
Leaving nothing behind
SADC defence chiefs had informed the M23 they would "withdraw... personnel and equipment unconditionally", Maphwanya said.
No SADC equipment would remain. "SADC is not leaving even a pin in eastern DRC," he added.
Officials do not comment on the size of the SAMIDRC deployment, but the bulk of the troops come from South Africa, which is estimated to have sent at least 1,300 soldiers.
There are also South Africans in the DRC under a separate UN peacekeeping mission.
Calls for evacuation began mounting in South Africa after 14 of the country's soldiers were killed in the region in January.
Most were from the SADC mission, but at least two were in the UN force.
Three Malawian troops in the SADC deployment were also killed, while Tanzania said two of its soldiers died in clashes.
The evacuation from the DRC was not a sign of weakness or the abandonment of people caught up in the fighting, Maphwanya said.
"Our withdrawal is a technical move that allows peace and mediation to continue."
It came after US President Donald Trump's senior Africa advisor met Congolese and Rwandan representatives in Qatar last week in what the US said was an effort to end the crisis.
UN experts and the United States say the M23 has received military support from Rwanda, an accusation the latter has denied.
Democratic Republic of Congo asks neighbouring Chad for military support to help fight M23 rebels who have been moving south towards Uvira, near Burundi, Reuters news agency reports.
