PRETORIA, February 12. /TASS/. The Republic of South Africa has deployed additional elite soldiers, over 800 servicemen, to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the local News 24 media outlet reported.
The units were transported to the city of Lubumbashi located in the southeastern DR Congo, the website noted. Lubumbashi is 1.5 kilometers (0.9 miles) from the Congolese town of Sake and city of Goma, where South African soldiers will be stationed as part of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) forces.
According to the Daily Maverick local newspaper, Lubumbashi is intended to be used as the primary logistics hub for the evacuation of South African forces from the DRC. Its timeframe is yet to be determined and is highly dependent on the developments in the east of the republic.
Following the death of 14 South African servicemen in the Sake and Goma areas in late January, Chief of the National Defense Force Rudzani Maphwanya said that the defense ministry was working on withdrawing the country’s troops from the DR Congo, which, however, can only be achieved through a joint decision by the SADC. South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola said at a hearing in the parliament that there would not be an immediate withdrawal from the DRC.
In late 2023, the DRC authorities reached an agreement with the SADC to deploy the community’s forces in the east of the country to counter the rebels. The SADC forces are authorized to participate directly in combat operations. South Africa has deployed some 1,800 troops to the eastern DRC. The SADC force also includes contingents from Malawi and Tanzania. On February 5, Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera ordered to initiate the preparations for the withdrawal of the national contingent from the DRC.