Lerato Mbhiza
TWO South African National Defence Force (SANDF) members deployed on a peace mission in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have been killed.
Announcing the deaths, the South African military said three more soldiers were wounded in the incident on Wednesday near the eastern city of Goma.
“A mortar bomb landed inside one of the South African contingent military bases inflicting casualties and injuries to the SANDF soldiers,” the South African National Defence Force said in a statement.
“As a result of this indirect fire, the SANDF suffered two fatalities and three members sustained injuries,” the statement added.
The injured were taken to the nearest hospital in Goma, capital of the troubled North Kivu province.
A mortar is an artillery weapon that fires explosives at targets at close range.
Earlier this week, the Presidency announced the deployment of 2,900 troops to the DRC.
The troops were sent as part of a southern African regional force, that also includes soldiers from Malawi and Tanzania, tasked with helping DRC government forces fight M23 rebels.
The mostly-Tutsi M23 group has seized vast swathes of North Kivu since emerging from dormancy in late 2021. The region has been wracked by violence in the decades since regional wars in the 1990s.
Clashes have intensified in recent days around the strategic town of Sake, which lies about 20 kilometres (12 miles) from Goma.
Earlier this month, M23 rebels fired at a South African Air Force (SAAF) Oryx helicopter, which was hit at least 43 times by suspected AK-47 and PK machine gun fire during a MONUSCO medical evacuation mission.
The Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Thandi Modise has passed her condolences to the families of the deceased soldiers and wished the injured members a speedy recovery.
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