SA troops remain trapped in ‘perilous, threatening’ conditions in DRC, with no rescue in sight

About 2,000 South African troops are still effectively prisoners of war in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, with no visible signs that they are likely to be released soon.

The troops have been trapped in their bases in the provincial capital of Goma and the nearby town of Sake since they were overrun by M23 rebels strongly backed by Rwanda last month.

The conditions of their incarceration are “perilous, threatening and in squalor”, a military source said. 

South African National Defence Force reinforcements, including aircraft, have been flown to the DRC city of Lubumbashi, more than 1,000km south of Goma, hoping to extract the trapped troops, according to Defence Minister Angie Motshekga.

This would start with the injured, she told Africa Report. 

Last Friday, the bodies of the 14 SANDF soldiers killed in fighting with the M23 between 23 and 27 January around Goma and Sake were eventually returned to South Africa after difficult negotiations with the M23.

Motshekga did not appear to be suggesting that the SANDF reinforcements had been deployed in Lubumbashi to forcibly extract their trapped comrades. She indicated to Africa Report that the release of the troops would be negotiated, but added that they could not retreat without a resolution from the Southern African Development Community since most of them were there with the SADC Mission in DRC (SAMIDRC). Some are there with the UN peacekeeping force Monusco.

It seems the SANDF sent the reinforcements to Lubumbashi just in case the negotiations for the release of the troops goes wrong.

Asked to confirm the deployment of reinforcements to Lubumbashi, SANDF spokesperson Siphiwe Dlamini said he was not aware of Motshekga’s discussions with Africa Report as they had taken place in Addis Ababa. 

The SADC has announced no plans to meet to review the SAMIDRC’s mission and when he received the bodies of the fallen soldiers at Waterkloof Air Force Base on Friday Ramaphosa said that “we must fulfil our duty to complete their mission”, suggesting that he had no intention of terminating the SAMIDRC’s deployment in the DRC.

This has annoyed some people in the military community who say Ramaphosa’s government is denying the reality that the SANDF soldiers in the DRC are prisoners of war.

“Yes, we are part of SADC’s mission there, and yes, it can only end if SADC so resolves. That, however, doesn’t do anything for those stuck in Goma and Sake who can’t be removed unless the terms of their removal are negotiated with the M23. Two different things,” one military source said. 

It appears that the South African government is counting on peace processes supposedly being managed by the SADC and the East African Community (EAC) to reach a peace agreement that would allow the return of the SANDF troops. The two regional organisations held a joint summit in Dar es Salaam on 8 February and directed their defence chiefs to meet within five days to devise a plan for a ceasefire, for humanitarian assistance including the repatriation of the dead and wounded, for opening up communication corridors to and from Goma and for the immediate reopening of Goma’s airport.

Defence ministers would meet within 30 days to approve the defence chiefs’ plan. 

But military sources said the defence chiefs had not yet met. They blamed the delay on Zimbabwe which, as current SADC chair, was supposed to convene the meeting, but is dragging its heels.

Dlamini declined to comment on this delay, saying questions could best be answered by the EAC/SADC secretariats. “I do not speak for the two organisations.”

AU communique