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Members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), part of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) military mission for eastern Congo, in Goma.
Defence analyst Dean Wingrin has called for South African National Defence Force (SANDF) troops deployed in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to be reassigned to border patrol duties within South Africa.
This comes as the M23 rebels, who recently seized control of Goma in the eastern DRC, are expected to make an announcement this morning.
Last week, nine SANDF soldiers were killed in clashes with the rebels. Four more soldiers, from Malawi and Uruguay, died the following day.
Wingrin has criticised the lack of logistical support for SANDF troops in the DRC.
“You must have a sufficiently capacitated and equipped army that if you are going to deploy them 3 000 kilometres away, then they must be supported. And unfortunately, they cannot be supported if you don’t have sufficient logistics to support them – enough ammunition, even small things like toilets, and hot food, and safe accommodation…”
Wingrin adds: “Then perhaps they shouldn’t be there, and they might be more beneficial patrolling South Africa’s borders, and particularly in the eastern part of our country- such as northern Mozambique, which is facing ISIS terrorists.”
VIDEO | Political parties call on government to withdraw soldiers from DRC:
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) have also expressed concerns about the conditions faced by SANDF members in the DRC.
EFF MP Carl Niehaus described the fallen soldiers as heroes but criticised their deployment, saying, “Unfortunately, the conditions under which they’re sent there, were entirely unacceptable – they’ve not been given the necessary backup, there are not enough resources in order for them to be able to effectively carry out their duties. There’s no air protection, and sadly we had to hear that last Friday, the soldiers actually ran out of ammunition.”
Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance (DA) has questioned the motives behind SANDF’s deployment in the DRC, suggesting it may be tied to protecting private interests.
DA defence spokesperson Chris Hattingh said, “This is an untenable situation, and we should get out of there as soon as possible. We don’t need to be there, why we’re there – well the motivation from the President’s side is we need a stable Southern Africa, we are supporting SADC. But, even the SADC countries with the most interest in the conflict, Angola, and Zambia- they do not have troops there.”
“We’ve got no business there, and the more people ask these questions, the more the rumour comes up – we are there in the mineral-rich eastern DRC to protect the mining interests of some very prominent South Africans,” Hattingh notes.
Flights to and from Goma remain cancelled, and the United Nations Security Council is set to hold an emergency session later today to address the escalating conflict.
Sophie Mokoena on M23 rebels taking over Goma
