Efforts to repatriate the remains of 14 South African soldiers that were killed in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo last month are now firmly underway following delays.
The repatriation of the bodies – which is being done with the help of the United Nations – faced delay after the Department of Defence completed and handed over all administrative processes to the UN.
“Following delays that were encountered for the movement of the remains of the deceased from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to the UN Logistics Base in Entebbe, Uganda, the South African National Defence Force can confirm that the movement is now underway.
“The movement is conducted by the United Nations. It is expected that by tomorrow afternoon East African Time, they will arrive in Entebbe and the bodies will be prepared for transportation by air to South Africa, Malawi and Tanzania,” the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) said in a statement.
The 14 soldiers – hailed as African heroes by President Cyril Ramaphosa earlier this week – died in the DRC after coming under deadly attack allegedly from M23 fighters.
South African soldiers are in the DRC as part of the Southern African Development Community Mission in the DRC (SAMIDRC) and the United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO).
Addressing the media following the State of the Nation Address, President Ramaphosa said: “We want our soldiers to come back. We want peace to prevail in that area in the part of our continent, so that the people of DRC can live in peace. And all of us can be in our own countries advancing development of our own people”. – SAnews.gov.za
