The government has pointed fingers at the Rwandan army after the deaths of South African peacekeeping troops in the eastern DRC and insists Kigali is working with the M23 rebel group.
Deputy minister of defence Bantu Holomisa told the Sunday Times that the government had received information that the soldiers were hit by fire from the Rwandan army.
“The information we had was that it is his [Rwanda president Paul Kagame's] forces that directed fire on us.”
Holomisa said Kagame would not have participated in conversations with Ramaphosa — and agreed to a ceasefire — if his army was not involved in the fighting.
“Cyril was correct to say these rebels were backed by the Rwandan forces. That’s why he called Kagame to say ‘stop it’ and then Kagame agreed with Cyril Ramaphosa that there be a ceasefire. Why would he agree on a ceasefire if his troops are not involved? Common sense,” he said.
The soldiers' deaths sparked a diplomatic spat between the two countries. Kagame objected to a statement issued by the Presidency that referred to his army as a militia. He also said Ramaphosa had lied in his version of the telephone conversations between them this week — claiming Ramaphosa had told him the South African troops were killed by the Congolese army.
Holomisa said Ramaphosa’s version of the story was correct – and that the warning issued to Kagame was necessary.
International relations minister Ronald Lamola said the involvement of the Rwandan army in the DRC conflict could not be disputed. The UN Security Council had shared information that showed Rwanda was actively supporting the M23 rebels.
“It's not South Africa that says Rwanda supports M23. It's a report of experts of the United Nations presented in the UN Security Council, referenced by the secretary-general of the UN, and the UN is the authority on this matter,” said Lamola.
But in an interview with the Sunday Times yesterday, he called for cool heads.
“In a delicate situation like this, it’s important that communication is handled with care and sensitivity. There are many examples where words have caused a war.”
More than four government sources this week revealed that the casualties suffered by the SANDF troops faced was nothing compared to that faced by M23 and Rwandan Defence Force.
“ One of the sources explained: "No SANDF member has surrendered. The hoisting (of the flag) was in Sake and it was an indication that you cannot fire in our direction because we are not part of that war, we are here for peacekeeping. It was also for them to pick up their dead troops and for us to get a path to medical facilities,” said the government source.
Another insider said: “SA can’t reduce itself to wrestle in the mud with Rwanda. We have a leadership role not just on the continent but in the globe. So we are managing those relations so that they don’t spiral out of control.”
South Africa was clear that it wanted to keep talking to Rwanda to find a political solution despite the strained relations, said Lamola.
“So that shows that the while the relationship is challenging, both countries, we are doing our best to build the relationship. And we think that is what we need to focus on, to continue to build a cordial relationship between ourselves and Rwanda.”
“No one benefits from a strained or a difficult relationship. We can all benefit from a relationship that is working and that is what we will continue to work on and build for the benefit of both nations.
“When a situation arises that is challenging like the one that arose this week, we have to maintain the line of communication, engage each other, confront the difficulty and resolve the problem. And that is what we remain open to do with Rwanda.”
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