South Africa will withdraw its 700 troops deployed under the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the presidency said on Saturday.
Last year, Pretoria repatriated hundreds of troops serving under another military mission from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) after 17 soldiers were killed amid escalating conflict between government forces and the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group.
President Cyril Ramaphosa informed UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres of the decision to “withdraw its contribution of soldiers,” the presidency said in a statement. The troops are being pulled from the UN Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO).
The move reflects the need to “consolidate and realign the resources of the South African National Defence Force” after 27 years of supporting UN peacekeeping in the DRC, the statement added. The withdrawal, which will remove South Africa from the list of top 10 troop contributors to MONUSCO, is expected to be completed before the end of the year.
Conflict in eastern DRC escalated in early 2025 as the M23 seized large areas of territory and key cities. Calls for Pretoria to withdraw grew after several soldiers, including at least two serving under the UN, were killed.
In a recent escalation, the M23 claimed responsibility for a drone attack on an airport in Kisangani, several hundred kilometres from its usual area of operations.
The UN said it would soon send a mission to help enforce a ceasefire. Qatar has been mediating between the Congolese government and the M23, resulting in a ceasefire commitment signed in July. Separately, the DRC and Rwanda formalised a US-brokered peace deal in December in Washington.
South Africa said it would continue supporting other multilateral efforts by the SADC, the UN and the African Union to achieve “lasting peace” in the DRC.
