Dayo Yusuf
Southern African countries on Monday approved the deployment of a peacekeeping force to help put down armed insurgency in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
It's still unclear the number of troops to be deployed and the timeline of the operations, but a summit held in Windhoek, Namibia, saw leaders of the Southern African Development Community bloc express their concern at the deteriorating security in eastern DRC.
The bloc reiterated its strong condemnation of the upsurge of conflicts and activities of armed groups, including the resurgence of M23 rebels.
It also reiterated its call for immediate cessation of hostilities by all armed groups and unconditional withdrawal from the current occupied areas.
The group further called on the DRC government to put in place the necessary conditions and measures for effective coordination amongst sub-regional forces and bilateral partners operating in the DRC.
Seven heads of state from SADC member countries were present.
