Three months since the battle of Goma tipped the balance of control in North Kivu province in favour of M23 rebels, the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) and its counterparts from Malawi and Tanzania have finally and quietly started withdrawing from their bases in Goma and Sake in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The three countries’ soldiers are part of the ill-fated SamiDRC (SA Development Community Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo) deployed to the area in December 2023 to help the Congolese government in getting a grip on the volatile conflict-ridden area where M23 was rapidly gaining ground.
The Sadc announced last month it would terminate the poorly prepared, underfunded peacekeeping mission, after 17 SamiDRC soldiers, of whom 14 were South African, died in the three-day battle for Goma.
Business Day sources among the SA troops said the order to start packing was received just before the weekend. Rather than move in a single convoy, the force will depart in groupings via Rwanda and Burundi to Chato in northwestern Tanzania. Chato will be the gathering area for the whole force to be repatriated to their countries.
“Some vehicles will be driving and the ones which cannot drive will be loaded on low-bed trucks. We are leaving with all our equipment, armaments and everything,” one soldier told Business Day, as they were furiously packing on Sunday. “We are leaving nothing behind.”
The first vehicles began the journey of more than 500km on Sunday. “As far as we know, the group’s quick reaction force will leave last to provide the necessary protection for the rear of the total convoy,” another soldier said.
It was this reaction force that faced the biggest battle in January as they tried to keep control of Goma International Airport. The force also sowed havoc in the ranks of M23 after killing more than 700 rebels in the fierce firefight at the airport.
M23’s other forces took control of Goma and the SamiDRC force have since been detained as de facto prisoners of war in their camps.
“As far as we know, we will be flown out of Chato to Bloemfontein. As far as the heavier equipment and armoured vehicles are concerned, I don’t know what the plan is,” one seasoned soldier told Business Day.
Soldiers from M23 were keeping a close eye on everything being packed and loaded, even searching ready-to-go equipment. They made it clear they were watching everyone’s movements.
“Our orders say by May 30 everyone and everything needs to be out of Goma and on its way. It has been chaos at the weekend, but nobody is complaining because we’re finally going home,” one of the soldiers said.
The orders correspond with the plan the defence chiefs of the three troop-contributing countries to SamiDRC proposed at a meeting in Dar es Salaam on April 11 with representatives from the Southern African Development Community (Sadc). The chiefs voiced their frustration about the delay in Sadc repairing and preparing the runway at Goma, which was still held by the rebels.
They proposed that the withdrawal, earlier agreed to by M23’s top military hierarchy, rather continue by road. Sadc’s secretariat had to obtain approval from Rwanda for safe passage through the country. It was later reported in Rwandan media that President Paul Kagame approved the force’s secure passage.
A technical advance team from all three countries was assembled to ensure that the route the troop convoys were to take would be the safest and fastest. This team included operations, intelligence and logistic experts. They also had to provide the necessary reconnaissance while the withdrawal was under way.
According to the soldiers, another contingent of SA and other forces is awaiting arrival in Chato to co-ordinate the repatriation of troops and equipment.
The SamiDRC deployment has been criticised by military specialists and soldiers for the seeming haphazard and ill-prepared way in which SA forces, as the leading country, were sent to the DRC.
President Cyril Ramaphosa agreed to contribute about 2,500 soldiers to what was supposed to be a combined force of 5,000. With the SANDF crippled by years of underfunding and failing equipment — aircraft in particular — the SamiDRC force deployed in a volatile war zone without helicopter or other air support.
It turned into a fiasco when M23, backed by the far better equipped Rwandan Defence Force, gained control over large parts of eastern DRC.
The troops had to make do without food and water for days and were left at the mercy of M23 effectively holding them captive in their camps.
While Sadc was supposed to pay for the deployment, it still cost SA taxpayers billions.
Late last year, Ramaphosa extended the mission for 2,900 soldiers until December 15 at a cost of R2.4bn.
The largest chunk of this budget is needed to pay for the chartered cargo aircraft to return all the equipment as the SA Air Force has no serviceable cargo aircraft.
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