Following the deaths of 13 South African soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo, risk analyst Kingsley Makhubela advises against retaliation and urges President Cyril Ramaphosa to mend ties with Rwanda. The analyst emphasizes the importance of diplomatic solutions and rebuilding relations between South Africa and Rwanda, whose army is believed to be supporting the M23 rebels. Meanwhile, International Relations and Cooperation Minister, Ronald Lamola, appeals to the African Union for financial and material support for the SAMIDRC mission in the DRC.
South Africa should prioritize mending its strained diplomatic ties with Rwanda rather than seeking revenge for the deaths of 13 South African soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo ( DRC ), according to risk analyst Kingsley Makhubela. Makhubela expressed concern over the frosty relationship between President Cyril Ramaphosa and Rwanda n President Paul Kagame, whose army is believed to be backing the M23 rebels.
He urged South Africa to send a special envoy to Rwanda to rebuild the relationship between the two countries instead of overreacting to the incident. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State met on Friday to discuss the crisis, which escalated following the killing of the soldiers who were part of the United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) and the Southern African Development Community Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (SAMIDRC). Tensions arose after President Ramaphosa's response to the killing, which President Kagame claimed was justified as the South African soldiers were in the DRC to assist DRC President Félix Tshisekedi's army. Kagame accused Ramaphosa of hypocrisy, alleging that he was pretending to be a peacemaker while fighting M23 under Tshisekedi's orders. Makhubela called for calm and urged family members of the fallen soldiers and the South African public to refrain from seeking retaliation, emphasizing that it wouldn't resolve the situation. He urged that the focus should remain on achieving the objective of resolving the conflict in the DRC, for which the soldiers sacrificed their lives. Makhubela also stated that South Africa should not contemplate military action against Rwanda and that the primary focus should be on repairing the relationship between the two countries. International Relations and Cooperation Minister, Ronald Lamola, echoed this sentiment, urging Rwanda to cease its support of the M23 group and withdraw its forces from the DRC. Lamola appealed to the African Union to provide financial and material support to the SAMIDRC and called on the United Nations to increase its support for the mission. Meanwhile, the South African National Defence Union (SANDU) blamed the deaths of the soldiers on the government's failure to equip the army adequately, highlighting the risks soldiers face without sufficient support and resources.
SOUTH AFRICA RWANDA DRC M23 DIPLOMACY AFRICA UNION SAMIDRC MONUSCO CONFLICT RESOLUTION
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