The M23 has continued to gain ground in eastern DR Congo and last month seized the region's second-biggest city, Bukavu. South Africa's deployment was heavily criticised by the public and opposition following the killing of its soldiers.

Gaza’s children were barred from schooling as schools in the Palestinian enclave were either destroyed or turned into shelters for displaced families. Since the Israel-Hamas war started, hundreds of thousands of school-aged children have lost at least one academic year.

African leaders have announced the withdrawal of thousands of troops from South Africa, Tanzania and Malawi, who were sent to fight insurgents in mineral-rich eastern Congo, where M23 rebels have killed peacekeepers while overrunning the region this year.

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) said on Thursday that a summit of regional heads of state had terminated the mandate of its troop deployment in the Democratic Republic of Congo and decided on a "phased withdrawal".