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Rapport writes that SA soldiers have to beg M23 rebels for water as they are effectively being held as prisoners of war at the Goma Airport in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
"You can't even wash the dust and mess from the battles off your body," one soldier lamented last week. The soldier described the situation as "probably the most humiliating" position SA troops have ever found themselves in. “We have to beg the M23 soldiers, who watch us like hawks, for water. One litre of water per soldier per day is nowhere near enough in this heat,” he said. Soldiers wishing to supplement their meagre supply have to rely on bottles of dirty water peddled by local residents through the airport fence. On Saturday, much-needed rainwater was carefully collected in all available containers. Last week, SA troops watched helplessly as their Malawian comrades packed their equipment on to their vehicles in preparation for their departure. The Malawians are part of the Southern African joint regional force (SAMIDRC). After three Malawian soldiers died in battles with the M23 rebels, President Lazarus Chakwera instructed his army to prepare for withdrawal. Fourteen South Africans also died in the battles, but, according to President Cyril Ramaphosa, there are no plans to abandon the mission. Meanwhile, the SA troops remain in the dark. The morale among the SA soldiers at Goma airport is at an all-time low. A soldier said: “We are left behind without an idea of what will happen to us. No one tells us anything.” On Friday, the last of their ration packs were distributed. They wonder if they will ever see their wives and children at home again and exactly what they have been fighting so hard for and why they had to lose their comrades to death. They “just want to go home alive."
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Erika Gibson at City Press (subscriber access only).
- Read this report in Afrikaans at Rapport (subscriber access only)
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page