Rwanda agreed to allow SADC troops that had been stranded in Goma in the western part of the Democratic Republic of Congo to pass through.
Around December 2023, SADC sent its soldiers to the DRC to assist the country’s forces in fighting the M23 group.
Since this group gained strength and captured the city of Goma at the end of January 2025, these troops, part of a mission known as SAMIDRC, have been unable to find a way to leave and return to their countries.
The known areas they were in included Mubambiro and the city of Goma itself. These troops included those from South Africa, Tanzania, and Malawi.
AFC/M23 recently requested these SADC troops in Goma to leave and return home, after accusing them of being involved in the attacks carried out by the Congolese forces on Goma on April 11, 2025.
However, these troops were prevented from participating in those attacks while the organization they belong to, SADC, had already issued a message regarding their involvement.
This is in line with repatriating these troops using air routes, which is not feasible due to the damage to the Goma airport they would have used; it is expected that they will return overland through Rwanda.
The main English news agency, Reuters, released this report stating that it had received information that Rwanda had been in discussions with SADC for several days and that Rwanda had agreed to grant its soldiers passage.
Reuters also reported that it had received information that these troops’ weapons would be confiscated for security reasons, but once they reached the territory of their countries, they would be returned to them.
