Two South African soldiers have been killed and three others injured after a mortar bomb hit one of their military bases in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where its troops were sent to quell violence.
These are the first casualties since the South African army began deploying to DR Congo last December.
The attack happened in Sake, about 27km (16 miles) west of Goma.
“Details of this incident are still sketchy at the moment, further investigation will be conducted to determine the basis of the incident,” the South African army said in a statement released on Twitter on Thursday.
South Africa’s military together with troops from Tanzania and Malawi are part of the Southern African mission in DR Congo (SAMIDRC), which was deployed to assist the government to bring peace, security and stability in the restive east of the country.
Last Monday, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa ordered the deployment of 2,900 soldiers.
The deployment will cost South Africa 2bn Rand ($105m; £83m) and is set to last until December this year, a statement from the presidency said.
On the eve of the attack on the South African base, the M23 rebel group had called on Sake residents to carry on with their businesses and added that M23 was “coming to liberate them and protect them from those heavy artillery, drone and combat tanks that are continuously killing women, children and elderly persons”.
DR Congo is yet to react to the M23 statement.
A recent resurgence of fighting in eastern DR Congo has displaced tens of thousands of people.
