Defence Minister Angie Motshekga has assured South Africans that SA National Defence Force camps in and around Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have not been attacked by M23 rebels in the last 48 hours. She was briefing the media on Wednesday afternoon on the sidelines of the Cabinet lekgotla in Pretoria, where it emerged that efforts are being made to get South African troops out of Goma.
“The latest information that I got around one o’ clock is there’s fighting in Goma between your M23 [rebels] and your DRC [government] forces and the place is completely tense,” Motshekga said. “From our side there’s been no activity, no attacks.”
She addressed a video of South African troops raising a white flag, saying this came after three South African National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers were killed in crossfire. The white flag was hoisted so the M23 at Sake, less than 30 km from Goma, could retrieve their dead. “Even now there’s not been any attacks since the ceasefire that we requested or instructed from M23.”
So far, 13 SANDF soldiers serving with both the United Nations’ MONUSCO peacekeeping mission and the Southern African Development Community (SAMIDRC) mission have been killed during the fighting between DRC government (FARDC) forces and Rwandan-backed M23 rebels over the last week. Some fighting continues in Goma but rebels appear to have captured much of the city, including the airport where SANDF troops are stationed.
Deputy Defence Minister Bantu Holomisa said South African troops were let down by the other countries defending Sake and Goma from M23 rebels. Experts have said that many FARDC soldiers surrendered or abandoned the fight, while Malawian and Tanzanian soldiers with SAMIDRC did not engage the rebels, and MONUSCO forces held back as well.
“The troops of Congo surrendered,” Holomisa said. “All of a sudden these troops of South Africa ended up being attacked by mortars and so on,” but acquitted themselves well.
“In terms of the issues related to us coming back and bringing those troops back now, the situation currently is as follows: our government is in contact with the United Nations so that they can facilitate the transportation of those people out of the Congo,” Holomisa said.
Diplomatic push
“The general posture we are taking as SAMIDRC is to force the parties to go into negotiation, as a peaceful negotiation. Our sense is that war is not going to be won through arms. It can only be won if people sit down and negotiate. So we have called for a ceasefire,” Motshekga said.
She added that President Cyril Ramaphosa has been in constant contact with the President of the DRC and SAMIDRC leadership. South Africa has also been in contact with Rwanda “because it is being alleged to be one of the big perpetrators…there’s been no hostility between us.”
“Things are relatively quiet at the moment and our soldiers are also in a safe place so that’s what we can say at the moment. I spoke to some of the leaders earlier, I spoke to [Rwandan] president [Paul] Kagame again this morning and we are insisting that a ceasefire must hold. Theat’s where progress is,” Ramaphosa told the media.
Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, said the African Union Peace and Security Council met yesterday and South Africa participated in that platform and put forward its position that there needs to be a ceasefire, humanitarian access and support to the civilian population.
“There is consensus that the only way forward is a ceasefire; it’s a political engagement that President Ramaphosa has always spoken about from the onset in the DRC process. The President has always said that the solution is a political engagement,” Lamola added, noting a Southern African Development Community summit later this week will debate the matter and give a way forward.
SANDF not out of ammunition
Motshekga addressed reports that SANDF troops had run out of ammunition and food. When she visited troops in the DRC last week, she said that then, none of the generals said they had run out of ammunition, but the SANDF contingent was nevertheless reinforced due to the escalation of fighting. “Because of the intensity we felt that to be on the safe side we need to reinforce because we are not sure how long it’s going to last.”
At no stage did the SANDF run out of food, she said of her 22-25 January visit to forces deployed in the DRC.