Analysts Warning that South Africa’s Military Is Facing a Crisis
An embarrassing incident in the DRC has resulted in South African peacekeeping troops being stranded by rebels, highlighting long-standing issues.
In a balmy, dilapidated mining town in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), deadly clashes have confirmed South Africa’s army’s decline. Once the most respected on the continent with the backing of the only military-industrial complex, the South African National Defense Force (SANDF) is now in disarray.
The SANDF’s reputation is tarnished amidst the mud, blood, and rubble, concealed within burning buildings and destroyed military vehicles on the streets near the DRC-Rwanda border in Goma, where M23 rebels recently overpowered the Congolese army and a United Nations-led “peacekeeping” force dominated by 2,000 South African soldiers.
The DRC government reports that 7,000 people have lost their lives and 450,000 have been displaced in eastern Congo since January.
Over recent months, the SANDF’s decline was highlighted by the arrival of over 20 body bags at an airbase near Pretoria.
Currently, surviving South African troops are stranded near Goma airport, just 15 miles from the town, facing dwindling supplies of food and ammunition.
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“We are currently held hostage,” a South African soldier conveyed to The Epoch Times from the base. “Several of us are injured, and we are now rationing food and medical supplies. The M23 group permits us to leave in small numbers, but infrequently. It’s chaos. A complete disaster,” he added, requesting anonymity as troops are barred from speaking to the media.
The M23 faction emerged in 2012, asserting to safeguard the interests of Congolese Tutsis who share Rwandan President Paul Kagame’s ethnicity.
Political observers suggest the actual conflict revolves around the crucial minerals in eastern DRC, necessary for various electronics like electric vehicles, cell phones, computers, etc.
The United Nations Security Council alleges that Rwanda’s military is supporting the M23 rebels in eastern DRC. Although, as global news channels displayed Rwandan troops crossing into eastern DRC lately, Kagame stated to CNN that he was oblivious if his soldiers were there.
The DRC has been plagued by strife for nearly three decades, causing about 6 million casualties, as per the Washington-based Council on Foreign Relations. In 2013, a peace treaty halted hostilities between the M23 and Hutu militias, who Kagame accused of orchestrating the 1994 genocide of Tutsis in Rwanda.
However, M23 reignited conflict in late 2021, blaming Kinshasa for violating agreements and vowing to topple President Felix Tshisekedi’s leadership.
