Ramaphosa tells Rwanda 'firing at SA troops is a declaration of war'
As South African soldiers lay lifeless in the conflict-ridden Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), President Cyril Ramaphosa made a stern warning to Rwanda that shooting at South African troops would be a declaration of war.
This is according to defence minister Angie Motshekga, who on Wednesday told the media at the cabinet lekgotla that Ramaphosa warned the Rwandan government against attacks on South Africa's peacekeeping troops.
While Motshekga would not confirm when this warning was made and to whom, Ramaphosa's office confirmed on Monday the president held a telephone call with his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, to discuss the recent escalation of conflict.
The presidency said the two heads of state agreed on the urgent need for a ceasefire and the resumption of peace talks by all parties to the conflict.
At least nine South African National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers died last week during skirmishes with M23 rebels in the DRC.
On Monday, three more SANDF members were killed in an exchange of bombs near the Goma airport, and one soldier who was injured during the battle over the past weekend succumbed to injuries in hospital, bringing the total number of fatalities to 13 in just one week.
The soldiers, on deployment as part of the Sadc and UN peacekeeping deployments to the area, engaged in combat with M23 rebels near Goma, the capital of North Kivu province in the eastern DRC. The number of wounded soldiers is yet to be confirmed, according to SANDF spokesperson Siphiwe Dlamini.
Motshekga said the latest information from SA troops in the region was that there is intense fighting in Goma between M23 and DRC forces.
"The place is completely tense and there are difficulties. That is why we are communicating after every two hours. From our side there has been no activities, there has been no attacks," she said.
She said Ramaphosa had been in constant contact with President Félix Tshisekedi of the DRC and Sadc presidents present in the area.
"There is also discussions which include Rwanda because it is alleged to be one of the big perpetrators, that is why we are keeping communications with them. They have been friendly, there has been no hostility against us, it's just when they were firing above our heads. The president did warn them [Rwanda], if you are going to fire, we will take it as a declaration of war and we will have to defend our people. That is when the firing also stopped," she said.
The DRC and the head of UN peacekeeping have said Rwandan troops are present in Goma, backing up their M23 allies. Rwanda has said it is defending itself against the threat from DRC militias, without directly commenting on whether its troops have crossed the border.
The DRC and Rwandan armies exchanged fire across their shared border on Monday, UN sources said, as the rebels tried to consolidate control of Goma, a gateway for the trade of valuable tin and tantalum ores, for the second time in 13 years.
Motshekga said SA has called for a ceasefire, adding South Africans should be assured that there has been attacks on South African troops for the past 48 hours.
"When we were at Goma, the DRC forces were fighting Rwandan forces over our heads, that is where we lost three people, so we had to quickly communicate with M23 to say we are not part of the battle so don't fight over our heads. We agreed that we would hoist our white flag to say we are not part of the battle, we are not going to dragged into it.
She said a ceasefire agreement had been reached, which was initiated when M23 rebels requested a free passage to Sake to collect and retrieve bodies of the deceased.
"So we agreed on a ceasefire for free passage. We will not fire at their movement, so there was a clear ceasefire which was agreed by the generals from M23 but also by our generals," she said.
The ceasefire would last as long as all parties allow, she said.
