SADC leaders agree to maintain peacekeeping forces in eastern DRC

South African leaders have agreed to maintain peacekeeping forces in eastern DR Congo after Rwanda-backed rebels seized the regional hub.

The decision was made at an extraordinary meeting of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in Harare, Zimbabwe, on Friday.

The group's chairman, Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa, called for “bold” and "decisive steps” to boost the force’s capacity.

The SADC military mission suffered heavy losses last week, with around a dozen soldiers from South Africa, Malawi, and Tanzania killed as the M23 rebels seized control of Goma.

The rebels have said they want to take their fight to the far-off capital, Kinshasa, while Congo’s president has called for a massive military mobilization to resist the rebellion.