South Africa to withdraw troops from UN mission in DRC

South Africa will withdraw its 700 troops deployed under the United Nations' peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the presidency said.

Pretoria last year repatriated hundreds of troops deployed under another military mission from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) after 17 of its soldiers were killed in escalating conflict between government forces and the M23 rebel group.

President Cyril Ramaphosa informed the UN's secretary-general Antonio Guterres of the South African government's decision to "withdraw its contribution of soldiers", the presidency said in a statement late Saturday.

Realigning resources

They were withdrawing their soldiers from the United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO), the statement added.

The decision was influenced by the need to "consolidate and realign the resources of the South African National Defence Force" after 27 years supporting UN peacekeeping efforts in DRC, it said.

The withdrawal of South African forces, among the top 10 troop contributors to MONUSCO, would be finalised before the end of the year.

The conflict in eastern DRC escalated in early 2025 as the M23 seized large swathes of territory and key cities.