South African opposition leader Julius Malema has said his country’s armed forces should not be fighting in eastern DR Congo.

Speaking at a news conference on Thursday, February 15, following the death of two South African soldiers in DR Congo, the leader of South Africa's second-largest opposition party, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), said members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) were "not properly trained” and "must come back home.”

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South Africa sent troops to eastern DR Congo as part of a regional force of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which was deployed in December 2023 to help the Congolese army fight the M23 rebels.

Kigali has asked the UN to reconsider its intended support to SADC’s military mission in conflict-ridden eastern DR Congo, as the southern African bloc’s decision would be based on the "wrong premises” and could be in favour of forces set against Rwanda's security.

‘Ramaphosa wants to kill our children’

On Monday, President Cyril Ramaphosa approved the deployment of 2,900 SANDF soldiers to the SADC mission to "assist in the fight against illegal armed groups.”

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"Cyril Ramaphosa wants to kill our children in [DR Congo],” Malema said. "Those rebels are well equipped.”

He said the South African soldiers "are sent there to be killed because they are not properly trained.”

"They must come back home. And we must stop with any military deployment until we are fit and proper,” said Malema.

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The Democratic Alliance, another opposition party in South Africa, in January also condemned Ramaphosa’s decision to send troops to eastern DR Congo, saying the SANDF did "not have capacity to effectively pursue an anti-insurgency campaign” and urged the president to recall his decision.

The party said South African soldiers "would be at the mercy of the M23 rebel.”

Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi requested for the support of the SADC bloc after falling out with a regional force from the East African Community (EAC), which Kinshasa accused of being passive to the M23 rebels.

However, observers warn that by working with the Congolese armed forces, the South Africa-led SADC regional force could end up collaborating with the FDLR, a UN-sanctioned militia that is part of the government coalition. The FDLR was founded in 2000 by remnants of the perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda and has launched attacks on Rwandan territory over the years.

The Rwandan government has, for years, asked the Congolese armed forces to end their collaboration with the FDLR, one of the more than 130 armed groups based in eastern DR Congo, to no avail.

The M23 rebels say they are fighting for the protection of the civilians in eastern DR Congo who are persecuted by militias such as the FDLR, which is accused of spreading violence and genocide ideology; targeting Congolese Tutsi communities.

Eastern DR Congo has been volatile for nearly 30 years. The provinces of South Kivu, North Kivu and Ituri are home to more than 130 armed groups that are accused of atrocities and human rights violations.

Multiple regional and international interventions have failed to end decades of insecurity.

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the country, MONUSCO, supposed to have begun withdrawing from the restive region – after more than 20 years there – is now supporting the Congolese army in the battle against M23 rebels.