Malawi orders troops to begin withdrawal from eastern DR Congo mission
Malawi’s president has ordered the military to begin preparing to withdraw from a peacekeeping mission in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a move he said was intended to support ceasefire efforts and create space for negotiations.
Lazarus Chakwera announced the decision after the M23 rebel group captured Goma, the key city in North Kivu province, and after at least 20 peacekeepers, including 14 South Africans and three Malawians, were killed in the fighting. The troops are part of the Southern African regional bloc’s military mission, SAMIDRC, which was deployed to tackle armed groups in the volatile east of the country.
Chakwera said in a televised statement that the withdrawal would “pave the way” for planned talks aimed at lasting peace. The Malawi information minister, Moses Kunkuyu, told BBC Newsday that the move was being made in good faith and linked it to a regional meeting of southern African leaders in Tanzania, which called for a ceasefire and negotiations.
The evidence supplied does not give a departure date, and Kunkuyu said only that the “operational aspects” remained to be worked out. That suggests the order was political and strategic rather than a finished logistics plan. Even so, it marks an important shift: Malawi is effectively signalling that the current military approach is no longer the preferred path to stabilising the region.
The backdrop is a conflict that has worsened sharply. The M23 rebels, which are backed by Rwanda according to long-running regional accusations, have been pushing deep into the east. The BBC report says the rebels also declared a unilateral ceasefire for humanitarian reasons on Monday, though the fighting was still continuing at the time.
Malawi’s move is also a reminder that regional missions can unravel when battlefield conditions change faster than diplomacy. Peacekeeping forces are often sent in to support local or multilateral political processes, but casualties and territorial losses can quickly alter the mandate’s political support at home.
The evidence packet notes that Chakwera had not specified exactly when the Malawian troops would leave, and that the decision had already been communicated to the Congolese president and the southern African bloc. That indicates the withdrawal is being handled as a coordinated diplomatic step rather than a sudden unilateral pullout.
For civilians in eastern Congo, the significance is mixed. A withdrawal may reduce the chance of further confrontation involving Malawian personnel, but it also leaves one fewer external force in a region where armed groups continue to displace people and challenge state control.
The immediate question now is whether the withdrawal will encourage talks or instead signal that the regional mission is losing resolve. Chakwera’s statement makes clear which outcome he hopes for. Whether the parties on the ground follow suit remains uncertain.
*Event date: 2025-02-06*
