...SADC forces, however, aren't fighting the rebels alone. With an offensive mandate, the SADC troops are doing battle alongside an informal coalition which includes the Congolese army, forces from neighboring Burundi and Uganda and armed groups allied with Congo's government.
Burundian soldiers sit in the back of transport truck, seen though the windscreen of a car
Burundi hasn't officially acknowledged having troops in DRC, but its solidiers, seen here in the back of a truck in South Kivu province, are openly visibleImage: ALEXIS HUGUET/AFP
At the same time, SADC forces are also deployed in a region where the UN has started pulling out its 15,000 MONUSCO peacekeepers after Congo's government asked it to leave, citing its failure to secure the country.