Two dead, three injured: South Africa on Thursday mourned its first casualties since troop deployments to the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which were undermined by an armed insurgency.
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“A mortar bomb landed in one of the bases on the South African Military Continent, causing casualties and injuries among soldiers” of the South African Army (SANDF), she said in a press release on Thursday morning.
“Following this indirect fire, the SANDF regrets the loss of two lives and the serious injuries sustained by three elements. The injured were taken to the nearest hospital in Goma for medical care,” she added, referring to the capital of North Kivu province.
She also said the details of Wednesday's attack were “sketchy” and further investigations were being carried out to find out what happened.
These are South Africa's first deaths since it began deploying 2,900 troops to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in mid-December.
These troops were sent there as part of a South African regional force, which also included soldiers from Malawi and Tanzania, with the task of supporting the government forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the fight against M23 rebels (Democratic Republic of the Republic Movement). March 23).
Since the end of 2021, there has been a conflict in North Kivu between the M23, supported by units of the Rwandan army, and the Congolese army, which is particularly linked to so-called “patriotic” armed groups. All diplomatic efforts have so far been in vain.
This conflict has exacerbated a chronic humanitarian crisis in the region, which has been plagued by recurring armed violence for three decades.
Clashes have intensified in recent days near Sake, a town about twenty kilometers west of Goma that is considered a strategic barrier on the route to the provincial capital.
“Escalation”
The Democratic Republic of Congo, the United Nations and Western countries accuse Rwanda of supporting rebels to control the region's vast mineral resources, something Kigali denies.
According to a UN document consulted by AFP on Monday, the Rwandan army is using sophisticated weapons such as surface-to-air missiles to support the M23.
The M23, a predominantly Tutsi insurgency, emerged in 2012 and briefly occupied Goma towards the end of the year before being defeated militarily the following year.
In November 2021, he resurfaced and criticized the government for failing to honor agreements to reintegrate its fighters. Since then it has conquered large areas of North Kivu.
On Monday, the UN Security Council condemned the M23 “offensive” launched near Goma on February 7 and expressed concern about an “escalation of violence and continued tensions in the region”.
Security Council members also called on “all actors to end the violence and respect international humanitarian law” and to resume dialogue to reach a ceasefire.
On the Pretoria side, the decision to station troops in the Democratic Republic of Congo sparked controversy. The opposition said they lacked air support and that the conflict had nothing to do with South Africa's national security.