South Africa recalls UN peacekeepers accused of sexual misconduct in DR Congo

South Africa’s military has ordered home eight soldiers accused of sexual misconduct in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The suspects were part of a United Nations peacekeeping mission in DR Congo’s troubled east.

The UN said the men have been linked to “systematic widespread violation” of the organisation’s rules.

It had received reports that the soldiers ignored a curfew and visited a bar “where transactional sex occurs”.

On Sunday, the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) said: “Due to the serious nature of the allegations, the SANDF took a decision to recall the implicated soldiers back to South Africa to answer to the allegations and to give account of events that transpired.”

Investigators have been dispatched to the DR Congo to conduct a formal investigation, it added.

The UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Monusco) has faced previous accusations of sexual abuse.

In 2017, five peacekeepers were accused of sexual abuse and exploitation. In one case, a soldier was alleged to have fathered a child with an underage girl.

Earlier this week, a UN spokesman the Monusco had received reports that the eight men “were fraternising, after curfew hours, at an out-of-bounds bar known to be a place where transactional sex occurs”.

He added that UN military police officers who went to the premises to assess the situation “were physically assaulted and threatened by the contingent members,” as they moved to detain the soldiers.

SANDF said it was “unfortunate” it was not directly informed of the allegations but learnt about them from the media.

DR Congo has been calling for an “accelerated” departure of the UN peacekeeping force from December, accusing it of having failed to put an end to violence by armed groups during its 25-year presence.

Since May, Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi has been urging SADC (Southern African Development Community) countries, including South Africa, to deploy soldiers in DR Congo, in order to tackle the M23 rebels, who have seized large swathes of North Kivu province.