The repatriation of the remains of the 14 South African soldiers who were killed in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which was planned for Wednesday, has been delayed.
On Tuesday the chief of the SANDF, Gen Rudzani Maphwanya, told the joint standing committee on defence and military veterans that the remains of the 14 SANDF members and the soldiers injured in Goma would be repatriated on Wednesday.
In an update on Thursday, the SANDF said all administrative processes were completed and handed over to the UN.
“The UN's planned movement for the repatriation of the deceased out of the combat zone has been delayed,” SANDF spokesperson Siphiwe Dlamini said in a statement, without elaborating further.
On Tuesday the officer commanding the operation headquarters, Maj-Gen Godfrey Thulare, told the committee that to repatriate the bodies and the injured soldiers, the SANDF had engaged the UN in the DRC and were continuously pushing them.
“We engaged Sadc through the secretariat and engage them on a daily basis to bring back our deceased and injured,” Thulare said.
TimesLIVE
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