Congolese President Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo gave his final agreement to the deployment of a Southern African Development Community (SADC) force in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to fight armed groups there, the Congolese press reported on Sunday.

According to the official Congolese news agency (ACP), Mr. Tshisekedi presided over the official ceremony for the Congolese Party’s signing ceremony on Friday, which will be deployed “in the coming days” in support of the Congolese army. This Southern African Regional Force (SAMIC DRC) is to replace that of the East African Community (EAC) and the Blue Helmets of the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Monusco), whose “accelerated withdrawal” is calling for their “accelerating withdrawal” by blaming them for the ineffectiveness of the armed groups that are proliferating in the east of the country.

“The Congolese Government is thus committed to providing this force with diplomatic facilities linked to this type of intervention. This also materialises the commitment of SADC to deploy its strength”, said Congolese Foreign Minister Christophe Lutundula Apala Pen’Apala, quoted by the ACP, received in Brussels and United States Radio Okapi on Friday. “This agreement defines the purpose of the regional force mission. It will be deployed to support the Congolese army in fighting and eradicating M23 and other armed groups that continue to disrupt peace and security in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, he added.