President Cyril Ramaphosa has blamed the escalation of fighting in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which led to the deaths of 13 SA soldiers, on the rebel M23 and Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) militia.
Ramaphosa, who has held two phone conversations with Rwanda counterpart Paul Kagame over the surge in fighting, said the deployment of the SANDF in the mineral-rich state was not a “declaration of war” against any country.
SA was actively pushing for a ceasefire through various diplomatic forums including the UN Security Council, the AU and SA Development Community (Sadc), and has demanded that M23 and Rwanda remove their forces.
SA has also supported calls by the UN Security Council for Rwanda to withdraw its forces from the region and halt its support of M23.
The rebel group on Sunday took control of the city of Goma, a key hub in the crossfire between M23 and the Congolese armed forces.
“The territorial integrity of the DRC must be respected in accordance with the UN charter on the respect of sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of other states,” Ramaphosa said in a statement.
“We call on all parties to this conflict to fully embrace the current diplomatic efforts that are aimed at finding a peaceful resolution, including honouring the Luanda process agreements. We must silence the guns on our continent for the attainment of inclusive development and prosperity.”
The latest four SANDF casualties were soldiers caught in a crossfire near Goma International Airport, close to the SANDF base. This led to the SA forces calling for a truce to ensure that the wounded were able to receive medical supplies.
Business Day understands that a truce will last as long as all parties play by the rules of whatever ceasefire agreement may arise.
The takeover of Goma by M23 “complicates” the push by SA and other actors calling for a ceasefire as it adds another dimension to the conflict, said defence minister Angie Motshekga.
Motshekga, who was in the eastern DRC last week, said the shots fired at the SA forces came from the RDF, who mistook the SA troops for DRC soldiers.
“Rwanda was defending itself and that’s what raised tensions,” she said on the sidelines of the two-day cabinet lekgotla on Wednesday.
“Because we were not armed to go and fight with them, we were armed to go there and keep peace and now that we are caught in the crossfire, it’s going to be important for us to reinforce, that’s why we reinforced,” Motshekga said.
She denied rumours that SA soldiers in Goma had run out of food. “I went to our logistics centre and there was no stage where they said: ‘Minister, we have no food.’”
Kenyan President William Ruto has organised an East African Community (EAC) summit for Wednesday, aimed at involving key leaders involved in the conflict. The Sadc troika is also expected to hold an emergency meeting over the conflict on Thursday.
The AU on Tuesday called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and “withdrawal of all foreign forces from the territory of the DRC”.
SA’s international relations and co-operation minister, Ronald Lamola, condemned Rwanda for its support of M23 “as clearly proven by various UN reports of experts”.
“We therefore call upon Rwanda to cease its support to the M23 and for its forces to withdraw from the DRC. The unauthorised presence of the Rwanda Defence Force in eastern DRC is in violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the DRC.”
Lamola said on Wednesday that any decision to withdraw SA troops lay with Sadc because the troops were deployed as part of a region-wide mission.
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