The remains of 14 SANDF soldiers who were killed during a conflict with M23 rebels in Goma in the Republic of Congo will be repatriated home tomorrow. This was announced by Army Chief General Rudzani Maphwanya today during the Parliament Portfolio Committee brief by the Defence Ministry about the situation in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

COMING HOME

General Maphanga did not give much detail on the repatriation of the soldiers' remains. This briefing comes amid growing calls for the withdrawal of South African soldiers from the region where 14 soldiers were killed during a battle with the rebels over a week ago. Defence Minister Angie Motshekga also confirmed that the SANDF's top brass is working around the clock to repatriate the bodies of soldiers who died in combat in the DRC. "The challenge we have is that the destruction of the runway in Goma is complicating the return of the remains of the 14 soldiers," she said. However, Maphanga assured Parliament that the remains of the soldiers would be in the country tomorrow. "I know there have been a lot of questions but the one that has been asked persistently is when will the bodies arrive in the country? I will answer in one sentence; they are coming home tomorrow," he said.

A BIGGER MISSION

General Maphwanya emphasised that it is important to note that the deployment of South African troops is part of a Southern African Development Community agreement and not a bilateral arrangement with the DRC. Motshekga echoed Maphwanya's statement: "It's not us as South Africans in the DRC, but we're part of a bigger mission, but most importantly, what has brought us here is the capture of Goma." She explained that the intervention in the DRC is the SANDF's 26th peace keeping mission. "As a country, we've done this work consistently. There have been matters concerning the country and the nation in terms of capabilities that were pledged there." Maphwanya, has confirmed that SANDF soldiers were indeed shot at by Rwandan forces. He further explained that they later determined the soldiers were not being specifically targeted but were caught in the crossfire between DRC soldiers and Rwandan forces. "We, as the members of the SANDF, had all that was required to provide. Most of our casualties did not come as a result of close combat. Coming to the issue of whether our troops were properly trained, for every mission before any deployment we give intense combat readiness training," he added.