SANDF soldiers wounded in DRC attack

JOHANNESBURG. — Three SANDF soldiers were wounded, one seriously, during an attack in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the defence force said on Thursday.

“One of the armed groups in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo launched an attack on one of the South African company operating bases on Wednesday . . . during the early hours of the morning,” spokesperson Captain (SA Navy) Jaco Theunissen said in a statement.

The seriously wounded soldier was taken to a hospital in Goma. The other two sustained minor injuries and were being treated at the same hospital.

The SANDF soldiers stood their ground and defended their position “with great courage and determination”.

The United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the DRC launched a counter attack with a reaction force supported by attack helicopters. Its outcome was not yet known.

In a separate incident, an SANDF soldier who was shot and killed by a colleague in the Democratic Republic of Congo, was identified as Private Nomathemba Ngeleka, a mother of one, the SANDF said yesterday.

“She was based at 5 South African Infantry Battalion (5 SAI) in Ladysmith, (KwaZulu-Natal) and joined the SA Army in 2011,” said the SANDF’s spokesperson Brigadier Mafi Mgobozi in a statement.

On Friday night, a member of the SANDF shot Ngeleka before turning the gun on himself. He survived the suicide attempt and remains in hospital in critical condition.

Mgobozi said that it was “believed” that there was romantic involvement between the two.

The motive of the shooting is still being investigated.— News24.