Nine South African peacekeepers killed in DR Congo: SANDF
Nine South African peacekeepers have been killed in clashes with M23 forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo, including two from UN peacekeeping force MONUSCO, the defence ministry said Saturday.
People gather next to some vehicles from the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) as part of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Mission as they flee the Masisi territory following clashes between M23 rebels and government forces, at a road near Sake on 7 February 2024. Picture: AFP
JOHANNESBURG - Nine South African peacekeepers have been killed in clashes with M23 forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo, including two from UN peacekeeping force MONUSCO, the defence ministry said Saturday.
"In the course of this gallant resistance against M23 rebels, the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) lost nine members by Friday, January 24, 2025, after two days of fierce fighting," it said in a statement.
Seven were part of the regional force sent by the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and two were UN peacekeepers, it added.
The SA National Defence Force Media Statement || Saturday 25 January 2025 || The SA National Defence Force and counterparts push back the M23 advance towards Goma in the Eastern Reublic of the Congo.
— SA National Defence Force 🇿🇦 (@SANDF_ZA) January 25, 2025
#SANDF#JointOperationsDivision#DRC pic.twitter.com/ErXfcmsMeS
The number of wounded was still being confirmed, the statement said.
Earlier the Democratic Alliance, one of the parties in South Africa's coalition government, had put the toll at three dead and 18 wounded from clashes on Thursday.
The latest update was the first confirmation of casualties from the South African military.
After two days of fighting, the statement said, "the South African contingent and its counterparts" had managed to halt the advance of M23 fighters on Goma, eastern DRCongo.
"Our forces were not only able to halt the M23 advancement but were able to push them back," the statement added.
Fighting has raged in the region despite calls from the international community for the Rwandan-backed M23 to halt its advance on Goma, the key city in the mineral-rich east and home to more than a million people.