South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that at least 2,900 soldiers from the South African National Defense Force (SANDF) have been sent to assist the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo in tackling the internal conflict within the country.

The deployment is part of South Africa’s international obligation to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) mission to support the DRC - also supported by soldiers from Malawi and Tanzania.

The SADC Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (SAMIDRC) was deployed on December 15, 2023, and the employment of the soldiers will run for one year, where they’ll assist the DRC as they fight to restore peace and security, warring against armed rebel group Congolese Revolutionary Army. Their nickname M23 is after the peace treaty signed by the National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP) and the DRC government on March 23, 2009.

In 2013, a UN Force Intervention Brigade – including members of the SAMIDRC – overpowered M23 fighters which led to a peace treaty with the DRC government. But hostilities have been on the rise, since M23’s resurgence in 2021. At the end of September 2023, President Félix Tshisekedi called for the withdrawal of the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in the country, describing it as ineffective.

As mentioned in the statement from the South African presidency, this new deployment will cost the country R2 billion ($105 million). The armed rebel group has taken control over the nation’s rich sources of minerals like cobalt by killing hundreds of thousands, and displacing close to seven million. Cobalt is used in the manufacturing of close to every piece of technology that keeps the world running, including smartphones, laptops, rechargeable batteries, jet engines, electronic smoking devices, and more. The DRC alone holds 70% of the world’s cobalt reserve, which would, in theory, make it one of the richest and most valuable nations in the world. The reality, however, has been enslavement, death, and dismay.

According to the UN, the DRC has the largest number of internally displaced people (IDPs) on the African continent. Unrest near North Kivu’s capital Goma has seen the displacement of close to 42,000 since February 2, the UN’s humanitarian office OCHA said on Tuesday. The DRC’s national men’s football team caught attention when they staged a silent protest before their African Cup of Nations (AFCON) semifinal match against Côte d’Ivoire days ago.

M23 is made up of former rebels of the CNDP who signed a peace accord with the government after a defeat in December 2013, but claim it is not being respected. The agreement stated that the rebels agreed to demobilize fighters and evolve into a political party. M23 claims to be committed to a peaceful solution, and that they would withdraw their forces upon the agreement of a monitored ceasefire with credible verification mechanisms put in place. They call on regional and international leaders to support their efforts. The DRC government also claims that Rwanda is one of the parties funding the current group of M23 rebels – as in 2013, Rwanda was found out to be the founders and commanders of the initial emergence of the armed military group by the UN – however both parties deny these allegations.