Johannesburg — Two more South African soldiers have died on their mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the army said on Saturday, this time in an apparent murder and suicide.
“The incident occurred when one of them shot and killed the other with their service weapon before turning the weapon on themselves with fatal consequences,” the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) said in a statement.
An investigation has been opened.
The #SANDF Media Statement || Friday, 01 March 2024 || The SA National Defence Force regrets to announce an incident that claimed lives of its two members deployed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on 29 February 2024.#SANDF#JointOperationsDivision#RIPSASoldiers#DRC pic.twitter.com/pSU9CQRKho
— SA National Defence Force (@SANDF_ZA) March 2, 2024
The SANDF statement said the troops that died were deployed in the DRC as part of the United Nations’ MONUSCO peacekeeping force, which has begun to pull out of the war-torn east of the country.
Around 2 900 more South African troops have deployed in the DRC as part of a Southern African Development Community (SADC) force sent to help the government fight M23 rebels.
Two of those troops were killed last month in a mortar strike, triggering complaints from South African opposition parties that they had been deployed without adequate air and logistics support.
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Source: AFP
Picture: X/@Rabbitking007
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