Southern African leaders have announced they will pull their troops out of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo where they have been helping the government fight rebel forces.

The decision to start a “phased withdrawal” was made during a virtual summit of the 16-member Southern African Development Community (Sadc) on Thursday.

The troops were sent two years ago to support the Congolese army fight the Rwandan-backed M23 rebels.

But at least 19 soldiers from South Africa, Malawi and Tanzania were killed when the M23 captured the key city of Goma in January.

The Sadc leaders said that even though the troops will be pulled out of DR Congo, the bloc would continue to “support interventions aimed at bringing lasting peace”.

The M23 has continued to gain ground in eastern DR Congo and last month seized the region’s second biggest city, Bukavu.