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The Democratic Alliance has called on the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Angie Motshekga, to urgently brief Parliament on the deteriorating and calamitous situation in the DRC.
This follows weekend confirmation from the SANDF that nine South African soldiers died in the DRC, with many more wounded in the past few days.
The SANDF is part of the SADEC mission in DRC battling M23 rebels in the north of the country.
DA MP, Chris Hattingh, said the country needs answers from the Minister on plans to safeguard the South African base and personnel.
“President Cyril Ramaphosa sent the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to combat in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with the full knowledge that our troops were unprepared; that the mission could not be won; and that our fiscus could not afford it.
“The crisis has now escalated to the United National Security Council, where South Africa’s recklessness in this conflict will damage our reputation,” he said.
In a statement this weekend, the SANDF said after two days of fierce fighting with the M23 rebel group in the eastern DRC, the South African contingent and its counterparts were able to halt the advancement of the rebel group towards Goma, the provincial capital of the eastern DRC.
“In the course of this gallant resistance against M23 rebels, the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) lost nine (9) members by Friday, 24 January 2025, after two days of fierce fighting.
“Seven (7) of these members were part of the South African contingent deployed in the eastern DRC in December 2023 as part of the 16-member regional bloc SADC Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (SAMIDRC) and two (2) members were from MONUSCO,” the SANDF said.
The number of those who were injured is still to be confirmed, however a few suffered various degrees of injuries.
The Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Angie Motshekga, as well as Defence Force top brass sent “their heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased and the entire defence family”.
