SANDF troops return home from DRC mission
South African Minister of Defence Angie Motshekga leaves after conducting a press conference at Tembe Military Base prior to the expected arrival of South African National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers following their deployment to the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo as part of the Southern African Development Community Mission in the DRC (SAMIDRC), in Bloemfontein.
A first contingent of South African troops repatriated from the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo arrived in Pretoria Friday night, the defence ministry said.
Videos shared by the ministry showed soldiers in uniform dancing and chanting on arrival at the Waterkloof airforce base in the capital Pretoria, welcomed by airbase staff with cheers and fist-bumps.
The troops were deployed under a Southern African Development Community (SADC) mission sent to the war-torn country in December 2023 to help restore peace and security in the region.
But the SADC said in March it would end its military mission in the mineral-rich area after 17 of its soldiers were killed.
Earlier this year, fighting in the region erupted once more when the Rwandan-backed M23 force seized large swathes of DRC's north and south Kivu provinces -- both of which border Rwanda.
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