Southern African leaders meet in Zimbabwe to discuss regional security

By Hassan Isilow

Heads of state and government of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) are meeting in Zimbabwe’s capital Harare to discuss regional security and post-election violence in Mozambique.

The extraordinary meeting of the regional bloc is expected to receive an update on the security situation in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), according to a statement.

There are several rebel groups operating in the eastern DR Congo, where conflict has been ongoing for many years with recent renewed clashes between Congolese armed forces and the M23 rebels. Last month, the UN migration agency said about 7 million people remain internally displaced in the country due to ongoing conflict and disasters.

The representatives will also review the mandate and future of the SADC mission in Congo (SAMIDRC), a regional peace keeping mission whose term expires on Dec. 14, 2024.

The post-election violence in Mozambique is also high on the agenda of the summit. The Southern African nation has witnessed a wave of protests since late October when Daniel Chapo, the presidential candidate of the ruling Mozambique Liberation Front party, was declared winner of the Oct. 9 elections.

Chapo, 47, won with a commanding 71% of the vote, defeating closest challenger, Venancio Mondlane of the Podemos party, who secured 20.32%.

Mondlane has been calling for protests against the poll results, describing them as “fraudulent.” Several people have been killed and others injured during the protests.