3 Tanzanian peacekeepers killed in rebel attack in DR Congo

By Byobe Malenga

GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (AA) – Three Tanzanian soldiers serving with the Southern African Development Community Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (SAMIDRC) were killed by rebels in a mortar attack, the mission said on Monday.

Three other Tanzanian soldiers were injured in the attack, a statement from SAMIDRC said, adding that one South African soldier also died in a hospital in the eastern city of Goma.

The statement did not provide additional information about the attack's location or date.

According to an Anadolu correspondent, UN peacekeepers serving under the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) and those from the Southern African regional bloc Southern African Development Community (SADC) are increasingly being targeted by rebel groups operating in the country's volatile east.

Since Jan. 2024, at least six foreign soldiers have been killed in Congolese territory.

Earlier in February of this year, two South African SANDF soldiers stationed in the DR Congo's conflict-torn eastern region were killed, and three others were injured in similar circumstances.

South Africa approved the deployment of approximately 2,900 troops in February of this year to assist in the fight against illegal armed groups in eastern DR Congo.

The move came following intensified fighting between M23 rebels and the Congolese Army that raged in North Kivu province.

SAMIDRC troops were deployed at the same time as the UN peacekeeping mission in the DR Congo announced its withdrawal.

Last week, four civilians were killed at a refugee camp in Bulengo, near Goma.

This incident occurred amid rising tensions, particularly with the Congo River Alliance (AFC), of which the M23 is a key component.

*Writing by Hassan Isilow in Johannesburg