South Africa sent 2,900 troops to eastern DRCongo in December 2023, as part of a Southern African regional force that also includes troops from Malawi and Tanzania, with the mission of helping DRCongo government forces fight rebels from M23 ("March 23 Movement").
On Thursday, "members of the SANDF clashed with the M23 in Sake", according to today's statement from the South African army.
"Following the clashes, 13 members were injured and one was fatally injured," he declared.
"All the injured were sent to hospital in Goma - the capital of North Kivu - and are recovering. Two armored vehicles were also damaged during the clashes," he added.
Two South African soldiers were killed in the region in February by mortar fire, becoming the first South African casualties since the deployment of the regional force.
Since the end of 2021, North Kivu has been in the midst of a conflict pitting the M23 against the Congolese army.
The region is the scene of violence by armed groups, many of which emerged from the regional wars of the 1990s.
Clashes have recently intensified in Sake, a town located about 20 kilometers west of Goma, considered a strategic point on the road to the provincial capital.
In DRCongo, which borders Angola, the United Nations and Western countries accuse Rwanda of supporting M23 rebels to control the region's vast mineral resources, which Kigali denies.
