The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has confirmed that at least nine South African soldiers died over two days last week during skirmishes with M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The soldiers, on deployment as part of the Sadc and UN peacekeeping deployments to the area, engaged in combat with M23 rebels near Goma, the capital of North Kivu province in the eastern DRC. The number of wounded soldiers is yet to be confirmed, according to SANDF spokesperson Siphiwe Dlamini.
While the SANDF has hailed the soldiers as “gallant fighters” who put up a “heroic resistance” that prevented rebels from taking over the city of Goma, the South African National Defence Union has raised concerns that the soldiers were heavily outgunned.
The incident has sparked outrage and calls for action from political parties.
The DA called for the withdrawal of the “undertrained” South African troops from the DRC. “The continued deployment of undertrained, under-equipped and under-supported South African soldiers in an escalating regional conflict cannot be supported,” DA MP Chris Hattingh said.
The EFF has called for an emergency joint sitting of parliament to address the conflict and the deaths. They have also called on President Cyril Ramaphosa and minister of defence and military veterans Angie Motshekga to account for the tragedy.
Motshekga's spokesperson Onnika Kwakwa said more information will be released later this week.
TimesLIVE
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