A Southern African Development Community (SADC) Mission Training Team (MTT) is ensuring inter-operability of forces deployed in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The regional bloc mission mandate is to restore peace and security and create a secure environment using personnel and materiel from SADC countries – Malawi, South Africa and Tanzania – working with FARDC (Forces Armées de la République Démocratique du Congo).
Nine months plus into its deployment in the volatile eastern DRC, the regional bloc under whose flag SAMIDRC (SADC Mission in the DRC) is deployed released a statement on its MTT. The statement has it SAMIDRC deployed on 15 December 2023 and to meet its mandate mission forces co-operate and fight alongside FARDC. Co-operation, it continues, is not limited to joint operations, but logistics, intelligence and training in the different fields are going further to ensure inter-operability. This “enables all units to operate together allowing them to communicate and to share common doctrine and procedures”.
The MTT commenced joint training soon after deployment. It, as per the statement, is divided into “units of specialties; infantry, artillery, marine and specialised units”. Senior SAMIDRC leadership has taken part in all required training, “demonstrating leadership and deep commitment to the mission. All training done to date has been in the SAMIDRC area of responsibility (AoR) with high performance and inter-operability listed as priorities.
The joint training, it continues, “underscores the importance of ongoing co-operation between [the] SAMIDRC force and FARDC in the mission to restore peace and security to create a secure environment in the eastern DRC”.
While in the DRC earlier this month United Nations (UN) Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, was in Goma, where SAMIDRC is headquartered. He met Force Commander, South African Major General Monwabisi Dyakopu, to discuss MONUSCO giving technical assistance to the Southern African regional bloc mission as approved by UN Security Council (SC) resolution 2746. It further provides for prevention of conflict-related sexual violence and disarmament, co-ordination for utilisation of MONUSCO air and other logistic assets for medical and casualty evacuation of SADC troops as well as authorising utilisation of MONUSCO air assets and armoured vehicles, “excluding the mission’s involvement in combat operations” and sharing of information and peacekeeping intelligence.
