The troops were part of a Southern African Development Community (SADC) mission deployed in 2023 to help the Kinshasa government quell unrest in the mineral-rich eastern region.
"President (Lazarus) Chakwera has ordered the Malawian Defence Force commander to begin preparation for the withdrawal... to honour the declaration of a ceasefire," Chakwera's office said late on Wednesday.
The move was also to allow for "planned negotiations towards a lasting peace", it added.
It was not immediately clear when the troops would begin the drawdown.
South Africa dominates the SADC force, which is estimated to number around 1,300 troops, with Tanzania also contributing soldiers.
On Tuesday, M23 declared a unilateral humanitarian "ceasefire" just days after capturing the strategic city of Goma in North Kivu.
But intense clashes broke out at dawn on Wednesday, pitting M23 and its Rwandan allies against Congolese armed forces, security and humanitarian sources told AFP.
M23 fighters and Rwandan forces seized the mining town of Nyabibwe, about 100 kilometres (60 miles) from Bukavu, capital of south Kivu province;,and 70 kilometres from the provincial airport.
Leaders from the 16-nation SADC and the eight-country East Africa Community are due to meet on Saturday, in a bid to broker peace between the warring parties in the DRC.
DRC President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame are expected to attend the summit in Tanzania after no-shows at previous talks.
The United Nations Human Rights Council is due to hold an urgent session on the DRC conflict on Friday.
At least 900 people were killed in the Goma clashes and 2,880 wounded, according to the UN's humanitarian body.
International observers have warned of a looming humanitarian crisis in the east of the country.
Niger orders Red Cross to leave country
Abidjan (AFP) Feb 5, 2025 -
Niger's ruling military junta has asked the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to leave the country immediately, a source told AFP Wednesday.
Niger has "terminated its agreements" with the ICRC and some foreign staff have started to leave the west African country, the source said, adding the organisation had closed its office in the capital, Niamey, on Tuesday.
Nigerien media said the government had ordered the closure of the humanitarian group's offices and the immediate departure of foreign staff.
No reason was given for the decision.
The Red Cross had been working in Niger since 1990, recently focussing on aid for victims of years of violence by jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.
Since taking power in a coup in July 2023, the Sahel nation's military rulers have made "national sovereignty" a rallying cry.
The junta has chilly relations with former colonial ruler France, instead forging ties with fellow juntas in Burkina Faso and Mali -- as well as with Russia.
In January, interior minister, General Mohamed Toumba, said the government was taking "important measures to ensure the monitoring and supervision" of NGOs and development organisations.
"Our investigations have indicated there are many NGOs that are in close association with certain partners that are bringing us war... through their support to the terrorists," he said.
Niger previously banned French humanitarian NGO Acted and local non-profit APBE in November, withdrawing their licenses.
The French NGO had been working in the impoverished country since 2009, notably tending to people displaced by jihadist violence.
Since the coup, Niger's authorities have expelled both the French and US soldiers fighting against the region's jihadist threat, as well as the French ambassador.
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