Critically injured South African soldiers evacuated from Congo amid rebel offensive

CAPE TOWN, South Africa

A group of critically injured South African peacekeepers who were hurt in fighting in eastern Congo a month ago have been evacuated by the United Nations, the South African armed forces said Tuesday.

South African National Defense Force spokesperson Siphiwe Dlamini told The Associated Press that the soldiers had returned to South Africa, but did not say how many had been repatriated. He said they had been receiving treatment in a hospital in the rebel-controlled city of Goma in eastern Congo.

The city of 2 million people was seized by Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in January as part of a continuing offensive in Congo's mineral-rich east that has alarmed some in the international community. The U.N. had pushed for the Goma airport to be operational again.

The M23 rebels are supported by around 4,000 troops from Rwanda, according to U.N. experts, and now occupy Goma and Bukavu, the two biggest cities in eastern Congo. Their rapid offensive has killed around 7,000 people, Congo says.

Another group of South African soldiers were due to return home later this week, the SANDF said.

An official from the union that represents members of the armed forces told South African media that more than 100 South African sick and injured soldiers were being evacuated, with three needing urgent medical attention.

Pikkie Greef, the national secretary of the South African National Defense Union, also said two female soldiers who were pregnant were among those being repatriated, according to a report by Eyewitness News.

Dlamini declined to comment on that report.

Greef said the soldiers had been evacuated through neighbouring Rwanda.

Fourteen South African peacekeepers were killed in January in the fighting between Congolese government forces and the M23 rebels.

The South African defence minister said at the time that they had been caught in the crossfire as the rebels advanced towards Goma. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa later said they were killed in rebel attacks on peacekeepers. Those 14 bodies had already been repatriated.

An M23 spokesperson said Monday that up to 300 soldiers of different nationalities left eastern Congo this week, among them the injured South African troops.

South Africa's leading role in a southern African peacekeeping force in Congo has come under scrutiny at home, with political parties and the National Armed Forces Union questioning if the soldiers had been properly equipped and prepared.

South African troops' discipline has also come under question. A group of soldiers were recalled to South Africa in 2023 after being accused of serious acts of ill-discipline and misconduct in a U.N. report.

The Southern African force also included Malawian and Tanzanian soldiers and was meant to replace a U.N. peacekeeping force in eastern Congo. The planned withdrawal of the U.N. force, known as MONUSCO, has been put on hold.

At least three Malawian soldiers were killed in fighting in eastern Congo in January, and Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera has said his country is preparing to withdraw its troops.