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 troops were sent two years ago to support the Congolese army fight the Rwandan-backed M23 rebels, which has seized control of large parts of mineral-rich eastern DR Congo this year.

At least 19 soldiers from South Africa, Malawi and Tanzania were killed when the M23 captured the region’s biggest city, Goma, in January.

Thousands of people have been killed during the fighting and hundreds of thousands left without shelter after fleeing their homes.

There have been concerns the fighting could escalate to a wider regional conflict.

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.

Announcing the withdrawal, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa said that the “situation is precarious, but the peace as it is now is holding”.