A South African soldier deployed in the Democratic Republic of Congo shot dead a colleague and then turned the gun on himself, on 29 February, the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), has said.
In a statement, SANDF Acting Director of Defence Corporate Communication, Colonel Selinah Rawlins, said the soldier used his official service weapon. Said Col. Rawlins:
The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) regrets to announce that two of its members currently deployed as part of the United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) have died.
The incident occurred when one of them shot and killed the other with their service weapon before turning the weapon on themselves with fatal consequences.
The SANDF has convened a Board of Inquiry to work with the MONUSCO command to investigate the incident and the circumstances that led to it.
Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Hon Thandi Modise has expressed her shock at the incident.
The members’ remains will be repatriated to South Africa in due course. All families have been informed of the unfortunate incident.
The Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Hon Thandi Modise, the Deputy Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Mr Thabang Makwetla, the Acting Secretary for Defence, Dr Thobekile Gamede and the Chief of the SANDF, General Rudzani Maphwanya express condolences to the families of the deceased.
The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) was established following Security Council Resolution 1925 of 28 May 2010 as MONUC.
It was mandated to protect civilians, humanitarian personnel and human rights defenders under imminent threat of physical violence and to support the Government of the DRC in its stabilization and peace consolidation efforts.
Meanwhile, two South African soldiers who were killed in a mortar attack in North Kivu, DRC several weeks ago were buried with military honours in Pretoria and Kimberley on Saturday.
As reported by eNCA, Thabang Semono together with close to 3 000 army colleagues arrived in the DRC on 2 February.
This was Semono’s third deployment to DRC through the SANDF SADC mission since he joined the military in 2006.
Mkhulu Bobe, who also died in the mortar attack, was laid to rest in Kimberley.
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