South African Defence said it had lost one of its soldiers deployed in DRC after SADC regional troops encountered the M23 rebels in Sake a town 27km from Goma city in North Kivu.
“SANDF members came into contact with the M23 at Sake, during the ensuing battle between the M23 and our forces. 13 members were injured and one was fatally injured. All injured members were evacuated to Goma hospital and are convalescing Two armored personnel carriers (APC) were damaged during the engagement,” the South African army said in a press release.
On Thursday, May 30 morning, the M23 again dropped bombs on the town of Sake, 27 km from Goma, reported the spokesperson for the Congolese army in the region. Government troops were then forced to intervene to ward off the threat.
Lieutenant-Colonel Ndjike Kaiko Guillaume said that officially, SADC troops have never been engaged in combat since the start of their deployment in mid-December.
However, a security source said that the soldiers on ground, mainly South Africans, attacked the rebels near Saké, in the territory of Masisi. Since December, this is the 4th South African soldier to lose his life in North Kivu.
Sake, a strategic city and last barrier for Goma, has reportedly become a ghost town due to regular clashes between the two parties.
On Friday May 31, hostilities continued in the hills near Saké, particularly in Kimoka from where the M23 regularly fired its shells into the city, said a civil society actor.
Furthermore, other clashes which have become intense are reported a little further north where the rebels are trying to seize part of the territory of Lubero. Thursday May 30 was particularly turbulent in Kanyabayonga following the advance of the attackers.
Kanyabayonga is a junction between the territories of Rutshuru, already occupied by the M23, and that of Lubero, so far spared.
