The South African military has reported the death of two of its troops who were part of a regional peacekeeping mission in a mortar incident in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Three other troops were wounded when a mortar bomb landed on their base on Wednesday, February 14, the South African military said on X, offering no details on where exactly the base is located.
The wounded soldiers were taken to a hospital in Goma, the capital of the eastern North Kivu Province, it added.
South African defence minister Thandi Modise offered her condolences to the families of the dead troops, the military said.
It was not immediately clear whether it was a deliberate attack on the base or a mortar accidentally landing on it.
The incident came days after President Cyril Ramaphosa ordered the deployment of 2,900 South African troops to DRC’s restive east as part of a regional mission known as SAMIDRC.
DRC and South Africa are both members of the regional organization Southern African Development Community (SADC), which authorized the deployment of the SAMIDRC mission last year.
Fighting between DRC government forces and rebels has intensified in the east of the country in recent weeks.
The violence has forced many people to flee their homes and seek safety in Goma, according to news reports.
