The South African National Defence Union vowed that they would ensure that South African troops are safe for the duration of their deployment in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This after two soldiers reportedly died and three injured following a mortar bomb attack at the SANDF military base.

The union's secretary, Pikkie Greeff, said they don't doubt the capabilities of SA troops. "There can be no doubt about the training of our soldiers. It is of a very high rating and troop preparedness and readiness are also very high. Some experts have expressed concern that this deployment needs more support in terms of cover, such as firepower from the air for our deployed members."

In the last week tensions were high between the SADC mission in DRC and M23 rebels leading to the deployment of 2900 troops by the SA presidency.

Military veterans Minister Kobus Marais said without proper air cover as well as transport and air elements, the SANDF troops will find it difficult to operate effectively in the eastern DRC, which is a complex and hostile terrain. "South Africa should not be shouldering a military responsibility that falls squarely with the African Union and the East African Community. We simply do not have that capacity and are definitely out of our depth fighting rebels in a terrain that we are not familiar with. There is a high chance that the M23 rebels, using their familiarity of the territory, will resort to tactical ambushes of the SANDF to inflict maximum harm on our troops," said Marais.