Cape Town — The South African Defence Force (SANDF) has confirmed that another soldier deployed in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has died.
The SANDF said it received news that one of its soldiers, deployed to the DRC as part of the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) died after a hand grenade exploded close to the sleeping quarters in the Beni region on Monday 8 July, it said in a statement.
“It is not clear what caused the hand grenade to explode. An SANDF board of inquiry including UN officials will be convened to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident,” the SANDF’s Siphiwe Dlamini, said.
WATCH || DRC [Democratic Republic of the Congo] | SANDF [SA National Defence Force] soldier killed after grenade explodes, UN [United Nations] offers its condolences. https://t.co/mMnDI18ZLO
Source || SABC News.#SANDF#JointOperationsDivision#RIPSASoldier
— SA National Defence Force (@SANDF_ZA) July 10, 2024
Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Angie Motshekga, Deputy Ministers, Bantu Holomisa and Richard Mkhungo, conveyed their condolences to the deceased and the entire defence family.
“The name of the deceased will be announced when all processes to bring his mortal remains back home have been concluded and his family has been informed of his passing,” Dlamini said.
This is the latest SANDF death after Ramaphosa authorised the deployment of 2 900 soldiers to provide support in combating illicit armed factions in the eastern region of the DRC, The Citizen reported.
Last month, a mortar attack on one of SANDF’s bases in the DRC resulted in two deaths and 20 injuries.
The SANDF said the attack took place at the base in Sake, in eastern DRC.
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
