Tag: Democratic Republic of Congo
Motshekga misses DR Congo deployment and withdrawal Parliament defence committee meeting
Friday’s (9 May’s) virtual Joint Standing Committee on Defence (JSCD) meeting saw Defence and Military Veterans Minister Angie Motshekga criticised for her absence.
Top of...
ISS seminar hears DR Congo is quasi-state lacking internal legitimacy
Troubled Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which has had a peacekeeping presence in one form or another since 1999, needs years of dialogue and...
DA rejects SANDF’s “success” claim in DRC
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has rejected the South African National Defence Force’s (SANDF's) claim that its deployment with the SAMIDRC mission in the Democratic...
Serious introspection needed by SANDF leadership following SAMIDRC withdrawal
The assertion by Defence and Military Veterans Minister Angie Motshekga that deployed members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) have the necessary...
Geopolitics and conflict in the DRC to come under the spotlight
Since January 2025, the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has witnessed a sharp escalation in violence, with the M23 rebel group capturing...
SAMIDRC was a failure – experts
Defence experts have accused the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) of spinning the Southern African Development Community Mission in the Democratic Republic of...
174 South African soldiers injured while deployed to the DRC over...
Ahead of South Africa’s senior soldier pronouncing the now terminated Southern African Development Community (SADC) Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (SAMIDRC) not...
SANDF denies SAMIDRC mission was a failure as withdrawal begins
The Chief of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), General Rudzani Maphwanya, has said the Southern African Development Community Mission in the Democratic...
Motshekga can expect SAMIDRC questions at committee meeting amid DRC withdrawal
The SA National Defence Force (SANDF) on Thursday 1 May confirmed that “the phased withdrawal” of troops and equipment from the eastern Democratic Republic...
SAMIDRC withdrawal from DR Congo underway
Withdrawal of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), terminated in mid-March, is finally underway.
Equipment and personnel...
Challenges facing the latest truce between Kinshasa and M23
On 23 April, delegations from Kinshasa and rebel group M23’s political affiliate, Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC), declared their intent to work towards a ceasefire...
SADC denies SAMIDRC part of operations against M23 in DRC; little...
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) refutes allegations its now terminated mission in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is part of joint...
SAMIDRC troops to withdraw by road through Rwanda
Withdrawal of the terminated Southern African Development Community (SADC) mission in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) – to start on as yet unspecified date...
SAMIDRC and M23 reach agreement on withdrawal of SADC troops and...
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has reached an agreement with M23 rebels to facilitate the withdrawal of SADC Mission in the Democratic Republic...
SADC’s withdrawal from DRC not a sign of abandonment of peace...
Deputy President Paul Mashatile has said the Southern African Development Community’s (SADC’s) decision to withdraw the SADC Mission in the DRC (SAMIDRC) should not...
Anatomy of SADC’s failure in eastern DRC
On 13 March, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) announced the termination and phased withdrawal of its military deployment in eastern Democratic Republic of...
Over half DR Congo UN forces now in the country’s east
Termination of the SAMIDRC regional peacekeeping mission in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) earlier this month (March) saw 60% of deployed United...
EAC and SADC forge joint strategy to restore peace and stability...
The East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have joined forces to address the escalating security crisis in the eastern...
SA Parliamentary committee seeks DR Congo troop and PME withdrawal detail
In the wake of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) mission in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) being ended, a South African parliamentary defence...
SADC to withdraw troops from the DRC
A Southern African Development Community (SADC) extraordinary summit on Thursday terminated the mandate of the SADC Mission in the DRC (SAMIDRC) and directed the...
Another virtual SADC summit on DR Congo conflict coming
President Cyril Ramaphosa, also Commander-in-Chief of the SA National Defence Force (SANDF), yesterday (11 March) told Parliament the Southern African Development Community (SADC) would...
SADC Heads of State summit to have final say on SAMIDRC...
Assertions by South Africa’s defence minister that SA National Defence Force (SANDF) personnel deployed in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will only exit...
The DRC conflict enters a dangerous new phase
The conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has entered a new and more destabilizing stage. A call for a pause in...
Parliament hears SA soldiers in DR Congo had “sufficient military equipment”
The aftermath of what is colloquially now termed “the Battle of Goma” continues to reverberate in South Africa with Defence and Military Veterans Minister...
Holomisa calls for thorough investigation into DRC ‘incident’
Deputy Defence Minister Bantu Holomisa has called for a thorough investigation into the ‘incident’ in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that led to...
Security and Justice committee chair expresses support for pregnant soldiers returning...
Jane Mananiso, Chairperson of the Select Committee on Security and Justice, used the return to South Africa of two reportedly pregnant soldiers to show...
Defence committee unhappy with President’s SANDF deployment letters
Parliament's Joint Standing Committee on Defence (JSCD) has expressed concern over the lateness and content of Presidential authorisation letters, particularly for the deployment of...
A further 127 SA military personnel flown back from DR Congo
All told 127 SA National Defence Force (SANDF) personnel are now back in South Africa receiving medical and other care following repatriation flights from...
SADC mission in DR Congo earns “in dilemma” tag at defence...
Chiefs of defence forces or nominated representatives from 13 African countries across two regional economic communities (RECs) agree any short, medium, and long term...
Government budgeted R5 billion for DRC deployment over next three years
National Treasury allocated R4.9 billion to the Department of Defence (DoD) for the South African National Defence Force's (SANDF's) deployment to the Democratic Republic...
“Critically injured” SA soldiers back home after mercy flight
The South African military today (Tuesday, 25 February) confirmed repatriation of “a group” of wounded soldiers to South Africa for “high level medical care”.
Their...
UN Security Council urges Rwanda to stop supporting M23 in eastern...
The United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution on Friday 21 February that strongly condemned the ongoing offensive by M23 rebels in the...
SAMIDRC soldiers – including from South Africa – apparently exiting Goma
About 200 wounded and sick soldiers from the Southern African Development Community Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (SAMIDRC) are apparently on their...
Death toll in Goma tops four thousand
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) heard this week “a parallel administration” seemingly set up by the Congo River Alliance (CRA) is running Goma...
What does the death of 14 SANDF soldiers in the DRC...
In late January, 14 soldiers of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) lost their lives while fighting M23 (Mouvement du 23 Mars) rebels...
SA should withdraw from the DRC, but there is no easy...
The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) should withdraw from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) because it can no longer influence the military...
Funeral details released for SA soldiers killed in DR Congo
Rifleman Derrick Maluleke was the first of the 14 South African soldiers killed in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to be buried.
His funeral...
AU adds its voice to calls for DRC ceasefire
The voice of the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU) has been added to those worldwide calling for an immediate...
Hostages or not, SA soldiers “get along” with M23
A letter shared on social media indicates there is contact between South African soldiers seemingly confined to barracks in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo...
M23 rebels are marching across eastern DRC: the interests driving players...
The current conditions in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) resemble the situation during the Second Congo War between 1998 and 2003. This resulted...
DRC among four African trouble spots named by Guterres at top...
Naming specifically the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), The Sahel, Somalia and Sudan, United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the weekend high level...
Ramaphosa receives remains of fallen soldiers
President and Commander-in-Chief Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday evening attended the repatriation ceremony of the 14 South African National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers killed in...
EU Parliament hears DR Congo crisis is an “escalation”
Ongoing violence and the resultant surge in humanitarian needs in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) attracted the attention of the European Union (EU)...
Sandu names units of soldiers killed in the DRC, MPs lay...
Ten of the 14 South African soldiers who died when they came under attack by M23 (Mouvement du 23 Mars) rebels in and around...
Remains of 14 SANDF soldiers arrive home after long journey from...
The remains of the 14 South African National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers who were killed in fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo...
Overcoming security dilemmas in the Great Lakes region
Since the December 2024 meeting between Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Angola was cancelled due to Rwandan President Paul Kagame’s...
Lamola dismisses proposal to withdraw SA troops from the DRC
International Relations and Cooperation Minister, Ronald Lamola, has dismissed the proposal to withdraw South African soldiers from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), stating...
DR Congo deployment disaster sees call for judicial inquiry
An opinion different to the by now customary call for dismissals and resignations regarding the handling of South Africa’s involvement in a regional bloc...
DRC conflict: talks have failed to bring peace. Is it time...
The crisis in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) escalated at the end of January 2025 when Goma, the capital of the province...
Parliamentary debate to seek accountability on DRC tragedy
The National Assembly will convene today, Monday, 10 February 2025, to debate the South African National Defence Force's (SANDF's) presence in the eastern Democratic...
