State-owned SABC reports that President Cyril Ramaphosa informed United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres last month of South Africa’s decision to withdraw its troops from the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).
South Africa is among the top 10 troop-contributing countries to MONUSCO, with over 700 soldiers currently deployed to support the mission’s peacekeeping mandate. According to the president, the decision to withdraw is driven by the “need to consolidate and realign the resources of the South African National Defence Force”, following 27 years of supporting UN peacekeeping efforts in the DRC.
The move comes after Pretoria had earlier repatriated several hundred troops from a Southern African Development Community (SADC) military mission in the DRC, following the deaths of 17 South African soldiers amid escalating conflict between Congolese government forces and the M23 rebel group.
SADC’s intervention force, SAMIDRC, which included troops from South Africa, Tanzania, and Malawi, was deployed in December 2023 to combat M23 and other armed groups. Despite a one-year extension in November 2024, the mission struggled to achieve its objectives and suffered significant battlefield losses, including during the capture of Goma in early 2025.
The withdrawal of South African troops from MONUSCO is expected to be completed before the end of 2026, marking a major shift in the peacekeeping landscape in eastern DRC amid ongoing efforts to achieve a political solution.
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