Expert: There is no better choice for South Africa than to leave the Congo

There are increasing calls for South Africa to remove its soldiers from eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. According to a defense and military expert, South Africa has no choice but to leave as it can no longer affect the military situation.

South Africa should leave DR Congo, according to Darren Olivier, a director at African Defense Review with almost 20 years of expertise in conflict research, “just because it no longer has good options left to militarily influence the situation.”

In his InMyCrosshairs X Space broadcast, Olivier made this statement in response to a request made by Carl Niehaus, a member of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), an opposition group in South Africa. After 14 South African troops were murdered in January, the EFF has also demanded that they leave the Democratic Republic of the Congo immediately.

In eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Africa is in charge of a Southern African Development Community (SADC) military deployment. The SAMIDRC SADC deployment also includes troops from Malawi and Tanzania.

A unilateral withdrawal by South Africa without a SADC vote, however, “also harms credibility and will bring South African economic and political costs long term,” according to Olivier.

In Goma and Sake, M23 insurgents encircle an estimated 1,000 South African and SADC mission forces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They are not really prisoners of war, but the M23 controls their supplies and movements.

Olivier stated that while South Africa is not in a strong position, it also does not have no diplomatic choices. “But it’s not alone: The other SAMIDRC contributors, Malawi and Tanzania, still have troops there in the same position as the SANDF.”

A unilateral and “immediate” withdrawal that leaves all the equipment behind would be just as disastrous as permitting the [other] troops to be surrounded in the first place. It would also constitute a betrayal of the rest of SAMIDRC and damage South Africa’s reputation.

However, considering the erratic supply of food and other essentials, this is not a scenario that can persist steadily, indefinitely. The situation is kind of a standoff, but it has a deadline as the forces’ surrounding bases become less and less livable,” he added.

“More open demands should be made by South Africa, Malawi, Tanzania, and the rest of SADC for the immediate return of injured soldiers and for the proper care of soldiers who are still in [DR Congo], including a consistent and sufficient supply of food and water.”

Reports state that up to 189 South African National Defense Force (SANDF) troops, including five critically wounded, are being evacuated as of Monday. Additionally, two pregnant SANDF soldiers are being evacuated.

Opposition lawmakers and National Assembly members from South Africa have questioned the deployment of soldiers to the war-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo, claiming that the troops were sent to defend mining concessions owned by individuals with ties to South African entrepreneurs.

For the SANDF soldiers in the DRC, Niehaus of the EFF stated that “under the current circumstances, with the lack of financial support and armaments and material support, they have to be withdrawn immediately because their safety and their effective functioning in whatever capacity they are supposedly sent there is not possible.”

South African troops, he said, “have been sent there to die for the sake of other people’s wealth.”

“We do not support the deployment of our troops without the necessary resources,” Niehaus stated, despite the fact that South Africa should be dedicated to promoting peace throughout Africa and supporting the African Union’s Silencing of the Guns initiative.

“We have a responsibility in the pursuit of the protection of our soldiers to immediately withdraw them from the DRC because the SANDF “hasn’t got the capacity to fight those battles” without a South African National Defense Force that “has the capacity to operate in that war environment, that doesn’t have the logistical ability, the financial backup, or the managerial capability and is fundamentally and deeply undermined by corruption,” Niehaus stated.

The SAMIDRC deployment in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo was spearheaded by South Africa in order to support the Congolese army in their conflict with the M23 insurgents.

Alongside the Congolese army are the homicidal FDLR, the Burundian army, and several armed militias known as Wazalendo.

The M23 rebels have taken control of the provincial capitals of Goma, North Kivu, and Bukavu, South Kivu, but the coalition has been unable to stop them.