The remains of the 14 SA National Defence Force soldiers returned home this week nearly three weeks after they were killed in the DRC. Picture: Oupa Mokoena / Independent Newspapers
THE SA National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers deployed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) will not be recalled despite growing calls for the peacekeeping mission to be abandoned.
The calls have mounted following the deaths of 14 SANDF members during fighting between rebel group M23 and the Rwanda Defence Force militia against the Armed Forces of the DRC, which led to attacks on the Southern African Development Community (SADC) mission peacekeepers.
The DA, part of the Government of National Unity, and the EFF have been among the vocal proponents of the SANDF’s withdrawal from the DRC.
The official opposition, uMkhonto weSizwe Party led by former president Jacob Zuma, has warned that removing South African troops would amount to running away and surrendering the DRC to the foreign-funded rebels, who might gain confidence and spread the conflict to other parts of the continent.
A few weeks before the SANDF were killed in the DRC, President Cyril Ramaphosa informed National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza and National Council of Provinces (NCOP) Chairperson Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane he had extended the deployment of the SANDF to the DRC as part of fulfilling the country’s international obligations.
”This serves to inform the NCOP that I have authorised the extension of 2 900 members of the SANDF for service in fulfilment of an international obligation of the Republic of South Africa towards the SADC under Operation THIBA in order to support and assist the government of the DRC in its efforts to neutralise illegal armed groups and negative forces in the conflict-affected areas of the DRC, thereby ultimately restoring peace and security,” Ramaphosa explained.
The deployment under Operation THIBA started on December 16, 2024, until December 15 this year and is estimated to cost nearly R2.4 billion.
Another 1 178 SANDF personnel have been deployed to the DRC from December 21, 2024, until January 31 next year towards the United Nations (UN) Organisation Stabilisation Mission as part of Operation MISTRAL, which is budgeted to cost almost R817 million.
Co-chairperson of Parliament’s joint standing committee on defence, Malusi Gigaba, said the country, as part of the African Union, subscribes to the continental body’s Agenda 2063, which aims to silence the guns and provide a framework of diplomacy, conflict resolution, and sustainable development to ensure peace.
”It is on this basis that we continue to support the deployment of the SANDF as a diplomatic tool to peace building on the continent,” he said on Thursday when the fallen soldiers returned home.
International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola this week also warned that South Africa, in all this efforts as part of the continent, cannot be a bystander as insecurity anywhere on the continent is insecurity on its own shores.
He said any abrupt withdrawal as called upon by some is not even a tactical retreat.
”It is even worse than surrender as with the number armed group in the area, there lies ambush,” Lamola added.
He said the government welcomed the SADC and East African Community’s adopted clear way forward on the conflict in the eastern DRC.
This includes developing a securitisation plan for Goma and surrounding areas, immediate and unconditional ceasefire and cessation of hostilities, provision of humanitarian assistance including reparation of the deceased and evacuation of the injured, and peaceful resolution of the conflict through the Luanda and Nairobi processes, among others.
”If we are serious about helping to silence the guns, we have no choice but to participate in regional efforts to silence the guns either under the auspices of SADC or the AU, or even the UN Security Council,” Lamola explained.
loyiso.sidimba@inl.co.za