Cape Town – The Democratic Alliance (DA) has reportedly called on the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the South African government to take full responsibility for the recent death of a South African soldier in Mozambique.
Reports on Monday, December 21, indicated that violent clashes between soldiers and jihadists in Mozambique had led to the death of the South African soldier.
According to News24, SA National Defence Force (SANDF) members deployed to Cabo Delgado as part of a SADC Mission (Samim) in Mozambique came under attack from insurgents during an ambush around the area east of Chai Village.
Troops managed to fight through the ambush. However, while at the rendezvous waiting for a chopper, the insurgents attacked them again.
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“During this incident, a member was shot and declared dead on the scene.
“His body was flown back to the Chai tactical base,” Times Live quoted the director of defence corporate communications, Brigadier General Andries Mahapa as saying.
Investigations were under way to determine the extent of injuries and loss of equipment during the attack.
On Thursday the DA said it would write to Defence Minister Thandi Modise to ask for details on how long SANDF members would be deployed to the area and how the deployment would be funded, EWN reported.
The party said it believed the attack that killed Radebe could have been avoided if proper air-strike support was provided and said hard questions must be asked about the failure of military intelligence in this case.
Radebe’s body was expected to be handed over to his family at the Waterkloof Air Force Base on Thursday morning, the report said.
ALSO READ | Mozambique’s Nyusi says jihadist attacks dropped in 2021
The Cabo Delgado province has been rocked by attacks by Islamic State-linked militants since 2017, killing at least 3 300 people and displacing more than 800 000 others.
But since July, more than 3 100 African, European and US soldiers have been deployed to the northern province to quell the unrest.
President Filipe Nyusi said last week his country had witnessed fewer jihadist attacks this year than last, after Rwanda and neighbouring countries helped tackle the four-year insurgency.
“We were able to reduce terrorist attacks by three times,” he said.
While in 2020 the country registered just over 160 attacks, that number was reduced to 52 in 2021, he said.
He said it was thanks in part to “military cooperation” with Rwanda and the 16-nation Southern African Development Community of its neighbouring countries.
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Additional reporting by AFP
