Modise says SANDF troops will continue to fight for peace in DRC

JOHANNESBURG - Minister of Defence Thandi Modise said that South African National Defence Force (SANDF) members currently deployed in war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) would continue to fight for peace in the country.

South Africa's decision to contribute troops to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) mission has been denounced by South African opposition parties, with some saying the country is not well-equipped for such an undertaking.

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The bodies of two South African soldiers killed in a mortar strike in the DRC were repatriated on Wednesday.

The soldiers were deployed as part of a force, alongside troops from Tanzania and Malawi, to help with the DRC government force’s fight against M23 rebels.

Modise spoke to reporters on the sidelines of the handover ceremony of the mortal remains of the two SANDF members in Tshwane.

"I would like to go back and say there is a war in the DRC. These are not the first two SA soldiers to die in the DRC,” she said. 

“We have cried with families before because when the young men and women join the force, we become family."