South Africa extends troop deployment in Mozambique, DR Congo

South Africa's military will extend the deployment of its troops in conflict-hit Mozambique and Democratic Republic of Congo, President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a statement on Wednesday.

The extension, for an unspecified amount of time, will keep 1,198 personnel of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) in Eastern DR Congo, where they are part of a UN peacekeeping force helping DRC fight rebel groups.

The statement also said that 1,495 SANDF members would continue their operations in Mozambique, where they have been supporting the government's fight against violent extremism in northern areas since 2021.

South Africa's military deployments abroad have come under domestic scrutiny this year, after two SANDF soldiers were killed and three wounded by a mortar bomb in Congo in February.

South Africa's main opposition Democratic Alliance party accused Ramaphosa of sending troops into a war zone unprepared.