Southern African leaders informed that they would pull their troops from the eastern democratic Republic of the Congo where they helped the government to fight government forces.
The decision to start with a “discontinued withdrawal” is made during a virtual summit of 16-member Southern Development Community (SADC) on Thursday.
The troops were sent two years ago to support the Congolese Army fighting the rwandan-backed M23 rebel.
But at least 19 soldiers from South Africa, Malawi and Tanzania were killed when the M23 took the key city of rubber in January.
SADC leaders say that even troops will be taken from Dr. Congo, Bloc will continue to “support interventions that aim to bring lasting peace”.
The M23 continued to claim the East of Eastern Dr Congo and last month was the second largest city in the region, Bukavu.
