S.Africa: Junk peacekeeping in the DRC: SANDF’s DRC rotation underway – My Comments

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The last members of 15 South African Infantry Battalion (15 SAI) have flown out of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as part of the rotation between 15 and 21 SAI.

The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) reported that the last 15 SAI flight left Goma, DRC, on 11 December as the culmination of a long United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) deployment, which started on 4 October 2020.

Members were elated to finally return home and be with their families after their mandatory isolation in De Brug, Bloemfontein, the SANDF said.

On 13 December, the Director Peace Support Operations, Brigadier General Nditsheni Ernest Singo, addressed the returning members. He started his address by taking a moment of silence in honour of the two members of the SA National Defence Force that passed on during Operation Mistral, Corporal SA Khuselwa and Private FC Vhengani.

In his address, he emphasised the contribution the SANDF members have made in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, their unfaltering discipline throughout the 14 month deployement and long before that during mobilisation. He further gave words of appreciation to the Officer Commanding, Lieutenant Colonel Erick Mbazima Baloyi, for leading the Battalion successfully.

Source: https://www.defenceweb.co.za/sa-defence/sa-defence-sa-defence/sandfs-drc-rotation-underway/

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