SANDF soldiers returning from DRC taken for psychological counselling

The first group of 249 South African National Defence Force (SANDF) members that arrived in the country on Friday night from the Democratic Republic of Congo has been taken to Bloemfontein in the Free State to receive psychological counselling.

They were deployed in the eastern DRC as part of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) peacekeeping mission.

Earlier this year, 14 SANDF members were killed in a fierce battle with the M23 rebels. A joint SADC and East African Community summit took a decision to withdraw the soldiers in the DRC to pave way for peace talks.

SANDF Chief of Operation, Lieutenant General Siphiwe Sangweni says the soldiers are excited to be back home.

Our soldiers will undergo psycho-social attention by professionals of psychologists, social workers, spiritual work group of Chaplains and also other activities over a period of three days and when they finished that first grouping will be taken by buses to their units where they are working.

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