South Africa, Malawi and Uruguay announced on Saturday that they had killed soldiers from their respective armies to stop the advance of M23 rebel fighters in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The South African National Defense Force (SANDF) said nine of its soldiers were killed during a pitched battle with M23 fighters as they attempted to advance on the city of Goma, a key city in the mineral-rich east.
South African army says M23 advance halted
“M23 hostile forces launched a full-scale attack on our troops with the intention of capturing Goma, but were prevented from advancing due to heroic resistance,” the SANDF said in a statement.
The South African military said its forces were able to advance and push back M23 rebels.
The SANDF said the number of injured had yet to be confirmed and some had varying degrees of injuries.
Two of the dead South African soldiers were part of a UN peacekeeping force, while the other seven South Africans were part of the Southern African Development Community mission, hence known as Samidrak.
Malawian and Uruguayan pipekeepers were killed
Before the South African military confirmed its death toll, the Malawi Defense Force (MDF) said three of its fighters had been killed.
“We confirm the loss of three of our courageous soldiers who were part of the SADC mission in the DRC,” said spokesman Emmanuel Melemba.
“These soldiers fell in the line of duty during an encounter with the M23 rebel group operating in eastern DRC. As the situation remains volatile, would like to share further details,” Arey said.
A Uruguayan member of the United Nations peacekeeping force has died of injuries sustained in a firefight, the Uruguayan military announced on Saturday.
The United Nations peacekeeping force, known as MONUSCO, entered the DRC more than two decades ago and has about 14,000 pipers on the ground.
Experts from the DRC, the United States, and the United Nations have accused Rwanda of supporting the M23 armed group. The rebels are mainly made up of ethnic Tutsis, who defected from the Congolese army a decade ago.
kb/rm (AFP, Reuters)