By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The first batch of South Africa’s soldiers have safely withdrawn from the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to the Department of Defence and Military Veterans.
The withdrawal which began early this week, follows the directive from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) heads of state summit.
Minister of Defense and Military Veterans Angie Motshekga during media briefing on Sunday, described the withdrawal as the outcome of the “great momentum” of high-level peace efforts by various actors.
These included a peace agreement signed between the government and the M23 movement, which had been brokered with the support of the SADC, the African Union and the East African Community.
The talks followed the killing of 14 South African soldiers in January, as M23 rebels continued making inroads and capturing several towns and cities in the eastern DRC.
The withdrawal of the South African National Defence Force from the eastern DRC marks a very important new chapter in our regional peacekeeping efforts,” Motshekga said, adding that the withdrawal was a structured process designed to ensure the safe return of the troops while also ensuring equipment was not compromised.
The minister said the first group of South African soldiers and equipment are now in Tanzania, but she could not confirm when they will arrive in South Africa and the equipment would be transported by sea from Dar es Salaam to Durban.
Motshekga reaffirmed South Africa’s continued support for the DRC’s sovereignty and stability through diplomatic, developmental, and humanitarian initiatives.
“Our engagement does not end here,” she declared.
“We will work closely with regional partners to foster a peaceful, prosperous, and stable DRC, in line with the African Union’s Agenda 2063.”
SANDF Chief Rudzani Maphwanya provided details about how the withdrawal is being carried out. He said the movement would proceed by road from the eastern DRC, through Rwanda, to Tanzania. The withdrawal is expected to be completed by the end of May.
“As part of this process, SADC is withdrawing its troops, together with their military equipment, from Goma and Sake through a designated route via Rwanda,” he said.
Maphwanya added that the soldiers will be kept for assessment and given the necessary support before being allowed to reunite with their families.
Maphwanya would not provide details of the schedule for the return of the remaining troops, apart from saying they would all be out by the end of May. He would also not say how many wounded SANDF troops had already been repatriated in February.
He added that this information might eventually be provided, perhaps to Parliament.
He also insisted that the SAMIDRC was not abandoning any weapons and equipment. “We are not leaving even a pin in eastern DRC,” he said.
Motshekga was asked what would happen to the R4.9-billion that Pretoria had allocated for the SAMIDRC mission. Would unspent money be returned to Treasury or be spent by the SANDF?
She indicated that the South African government had allocated R3-billion last December for a further year of SAMIDRC operations. Any money not spent on the operation would be returned to Treasury. However, she said it was not yet clear how much that would be. She also noted that the SAMIDRC was a SADC operation funded by all 16 members of the organisation and South Africa was waiting to hear from the SADC if any money would be left over.