SA National Defence Force (SANDF) members in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) should have been replenished with fresh troops due to the psychological toll of their deployment, especially those left in the dark about what to expect next, says a military expert.
About 200 troops, including the wounded, critically injured and two pregnant soldiers returned to SA on Tuesday. Remaining wounded soldiers arrived on Wednesday and were admitted to 1 Military Hospital in Pretoria for medical and psychological treatment.
“The SANDF remains committed to the welfare of our soldiers. We therefore urge the public to respect and afford privacy to our members and their families during the healing process,” said SANDF spokesperson Siphiwe Dlamini.
The problem is that the government has not decided what to do. SA has been embarrassed, but they do not want to admit it, so they are dithering while making a bit of a show of force by putting some troops into Lubumbashi. [It is] not clear what those troops can achieve
— Helmoed-Römer Heitman, defence expert
In the DRC more than 1,500 soldiers were reported to have put down arms when surrounded by the M23 rebels at bases in Goma and Sake. The situation has remained the same since M23 bombed Goma airport and a bomb landed in the SANDF base in January.
An aunt of one of the soldiers, who requested to remain anonymous, said her nephew at one of the SANDF bases was doing fine. However, soldiers reported being left in the dark and did not know when they would return home.
“On Monday I learnt they also had to surrender their weapons. He didn’t want to tell me. At first it was only the soldiers in Goma who surrendered, but actually it was all of SANDF,” she told TimesLIVE Premium.
“The government needs to be honest with them, that is the least that they can do. But now they are keeping us and the soldiers in the dark. It’s putting a lot of strain on us. I am stressing a lot. When I am at work, I try not to think about it as much — but you know the mind always plays games.”
SA sent additional troops and military equipment to the DRC earlier this month, with defence minister Angie Motshekga confirming last week that reinforcements were deployed in Lubumbashi, including aircraft, in the hope of extracting the remaining trapped soldiers.
Defence expert Helmoed-Römer Heitman said SANDF troops were confined to their bases but not completely disarmed.
"They are not engaged in any combat. I think the problem is that the government has not decided what to do. SA has been embarrassed, but they do not want to admit it, so they are dithering while making a bit of a show of force by putting some troops into Lubumbashi. [It is] not clear what those troops can achieve — far from the scene with poor and ambush-friendly roads between," he said.
In the meantime, there were talks between the Sadc mission in the DRC (SAMIDRC) and UN peacekeeping force Monusco as SA soldiers could not retreat without a resolution from Sadc. This has left SANDF troops in a precarious position as there was no formal ceasefire, peace agreement or disengagement agreement.
This would lead to a shortage of food, water, medication and basic human necessities, said defence expert Dean Wingrin.
“I am hearing that the South Africans do have food and get breakfast and lunch, but depending on who you talk to. The rebels are also providing some food, but the quality of food is deteriorating,” he said.
“Besides the mental anguish and strain, there is also physical sickness going about, which goes back to affecting them psychologically. They are under a huge amount of stress for their safety because an informal ceasefire means they can be subject to rebels doing whatever they want at any time.”
It was reported that the East African Community (EAC) and Sadc are considering possibly deploying a joint force into eastern DRC to secure areas under M23 control. Should that happen, it could be seen as an opportunity for SA to save face by being part of that force, said Heitman.
"But that will depend on the mission. M23 are not likely to accept the SAMIDRC troops as neutral if it is to be a peacekeeping mission. If this is to be a combat mission, our troops at Goma will be at risk," he said.
This would mean the SANDF needed to bolster its existing force. However, troops in Sake and Goma should return home first, said Wingrin.
“I believe they should have been rotated back to SA as they have been through enough. We need fresher troops to bolster what is happening there. SAMIDRC was meant to have 5,000 troops and didn’t get that figure," he said.
“Even those who arrived back in SA and are back safe, psychologically they are still suffering from trauma and they will need assistance. They are angry at how the defence force and the government treated them. They are angry that they were not kept informed as to what was happening when they were in the DRC.
“That is why it is imperative for those to come back and receive treatment and counselling — and it’s not just them but their families that are going through a tough time as well.”
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