
Ramaphosa breaks his silence on DRC conflict
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President Cyril Ramaphosa says the presence of South African Defence Force soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo is not an act of war. "The members of the SANDF that are in the DRC are part of both Southern African Development Community (SADC) and United Nations efforts to bring peace and protect thousands of lives that are constantly threatened by the conflict in the DRC," Ramaphosa said in a statement on Wednesday. His comments come a day after the SANDF confirmed the deaths of four soldiers in the DRC's eastern city of Goma, on Tuesday. At the weekend, nine soldiers were killed while a 10th died later in hospital. As it stands, SA has lost a total of 13 soldiers in the conflict. Refilwe is in conversation with Foreign Policy Journalist, Peter Fabricius, Veteran Africa Correspondent and Author of ‘Do Not Disturb’ a book on Rwanda.