SANDF soldiers.

• Two soldiers have been killed and three injured after a mortar landed in a SANDF camp in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
• M23 rebels accused the Congolese army and the Southern African Development Community Mission in the DRC of attacking civilian points.
• The DRC defence minister urged government forces to flush out M23 rebels.

Two SA National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers have been killed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo following a mortar attack. 

Presently, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (SAMIDRC) is deployed to bring stability in the region following attacks by M23 rebels.

In a statement, the SANDF said a mortar bomb had landed in one of their bases in the afternoon and, “as a result of indirect fire, the SANDF suffered two fatalities and three members sustained injuries”.

More details were not available and investigations were underway to determine the exact facts, the SANDF said.

Three injured soldiers were taken to a hospital in Goma, the capital of North Kivu Province, which remains under the control of the SAMIDRC.

For the past week, there has been intensive gunfire exchanged between the M23 rebels, believed to be funded by Rwanda, and the SAMIDRC, which comprises the SANDF, Malawi Defence Force, the Tanzanian National Army, as well and the DRC army (FARDC).

M23 rebels accused the SAMIDRC of attacking civilian points in towns around Goma, such as Mushaki, Kibumba and Sake.

The rebel movement claims to protect civilians in areas under its control.

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In a statement, M23 said its “compatriots” in Sake should “remain calm and go about their business”.

M23 spokesperson Willy Ngoma claimed that SAMIDRC had lost some battles and had even left their weapons behind.

“In full decline, the government coalition which thought with their Machiavellian strategy to exterminate a fringe of the population… and with the desires expressed by the government of DRC, the lions are on the lookout.”

He added:

With the M23 rebels marching on, refugees have been pushed to within 10km of Goma, a town that already hosts more than 150 000 recently internally displaced people.

On Friday last week, DRC Defence Minister Jean-Pierre Bemba arrived in North Kivu to rally FARDC soldiers not to relent.

On 20 November 2012, the M23 insurgents took over Goma, with little resistance from the DRC army. 

The rebels paraded around the city, and several people came out to greet them. Congolese customs personnel abandoned their posts, leaving the border with Rwanda open.

The M23 derives its name from a 23 March 2009 peace deal, which it accuses the DRC government of disregarding.

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