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| DR Congo conflict: SADC troops to pull out as M23 rebels gain ground | DR Congo conflict: SADC troops to pull out as M23 rebels gain ground |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| At least 14 South African troops have been killed in the fighting in DR Congo | At least 14 South African troops have been killed in the fighting in DR Congo |
| Southern African leaders have announced they will pull their troops out of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo where they have been helping the government fight rebel forces. | Southern African leaders have announced they will pull their troops out of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo where they have been helping the government fight rebel forces. |
| The troops were sent two years ago to support the Congolese army fight the Rwandan-backed M23 rebels, which has seized control of large parts of mineral-rich eastern DR Congo this year. | |
| At least 19 soldiers from South Africa, Malawi and Tanzania were killed when the M23 captured the region's biggest city, Goma, in January. | |
| Thousands of people have been killed during the fighting and hundreds of thousands left without shelter after fleeing their homes. | |
| There have been concerns the fighting could escalate to a wider regional conflict. | |
| The M23 has continued to gain ground in eastern DR Congo and last month seized the region's second-biggest city, Bukavu. | |
| South Africa's deployment was heavily criticised by the public and opposition following the killing of its soldiers. | |
| Sandile Swanda, a South African political analyst, told the BBC it was an "embarrassing" situation for the country. | |
| "The rebels are very strong. This is a full-on war and South Africa is hardly ready for any such war," he said. | |
| He added: "No country in the Sadc region is ready for this war - psychologically, militarily and politically." | |
| In February, Malawi's president said its troops would be withdrawn from DR Congo, although he didn't give a reason. | |
| The decision to start a "phased withdrawal" from DR Congo was made during a virtual summit of the 16-member Southern African Development Community (Sadc) in Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, on Thursday. | |
| The Sadc leaders said that even though the troops would be withdrawn from DR Congo, the bloc would continue to "support interventions aimed at bringing lasting peace". | |
| No reason was given. | |
| Sadc called for a diplomatic and political solution to the conflict. | Sadc called for a diplomatic and political solution to the conflict. |
| Previous efforts to bring peace to DR Congo have not been successful. | |
| This was Sadc's third emergency summit on DR Congo in recent months. | |
| It is unclear how many Sadc troops are in DR Congo, but 5,000 troops were due to be sent. | It is unclear how many Sadc troops are in DR Congo, but 5,000 troops were due to be sent. |
| South Africa, which leads the mission, was to deploy 2,900 troops and the rest shared between Malawi and Tanzania. | South Africa, which leads the mission, was to deploy 2,900 troops and the rest shared between Malawi and Tanzania. |
| Find out more about the conflict in DR Congo: | |
| Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent. | Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent. |
| Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica | Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica |