NEWS- Two South African soldiers are among the 14 soldiers who were yesterday February 14th 2024, reportedly killed Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) amid an uptake in violence and 16 others local people were kidnapped by rebels from the CODECO armed group at a gold mine near Djugu District in Ituri Province.
The South Africa Government has confirmed that two of its soldiers had been killed by mortar fire in the Eastern Democratic Republic ofCongo, the first fatalities since it deployed troops there.
The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) disclosed that as a result of the indirect fire, they suffered two fatalities and three members sustained injuries, and the injured were immediately evacuated and taken to the nearest hospital in Goma City in nearby North Kivu Province for medical attention.
Violence has been on the rise in the conflict-hit region in recent weeks, with many blaming attacks on the M23 rebel group that has been fighting Congolese soldiers in the region for years.
The Democratic Republic of Congo in the Capital City Kinshasa maintains that the M23 rebel group, one of more than 120 armed groups in the region, is receiving military support from neighbouring Rwanda.
This came after conflict experts from the United Nations and European Union said there is evidence backing the Democratic Republic of Congo claim, but the Government of Rwanda has vehemently denied the allegations.
The M23 Rebel Group has indicated in recent statements that it is on an onslaught in Eastern Congo, leading to fears the group is again targeting Goma, which it once seized 10 years ago.
Now, it is reported that CODECO, a separate rebel group, but which is a loose association of militia groups mainly from the ethnic Lendu farming community, has fought other rebel groups, and is known to target areas rich in gold and minerals in the resource-rich country.
The Southern African military mission efforts to reduce violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo have seen the deployment of thousands of South African troops as part of a Southern African Development Community (SADC) mission to fight against armed rebel groups in the east.
South Africa announced it would be sending a new contingent of 2,900 soldiers to Eastern Congo, but was not immediately clear if those killed and injured in yesterday’s attack were part of that new deployment.
South Africa National Defence Forces spokesperson Siphiwe Dlamini said that the base that was hit was in the North Kivu Province and the injured were taken to the Hospital thel capital City Goma.
The UN and other Aid Agencies working in Democratic Republic of Congo estimate that more than one million people have been displaced by the conflict since November last year and that is in addition to 6.9 million people who already fled their homes in past years which is now one of the world’s biggest humanitarian crises.
On Thursday, the Norwegian Refugee Council said the recent advance of armed groups toward the key town of Sake, near Goma, poses an imminent threat to the entire aid system in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Norwegian Refugee Council also said that the isolation of Goma, home to over 2 million people and hosting hundreds of thousands of displaced individuals who fled clashes with armed groups, would bring disastrous consequences to the region.
Additional Reporting from Al Jazeera Africa Desk.
