South Africa to withdraw troops from MONUSCO
South Africa has announced plans to withdraw its remaining troops from the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO).
In a statement issued on Sunday, February 8, MONUSCO said it had been notified by the UN Secretariat that South Africa would be pulling out its remaining contingents from the mission.
The decision to leave one of the United Nations’ longest-running and most costly peacekeeping operations comes as the South African government faces growing domestic pressure to reassess its military deployments abroad, amid concerns about the capacity and effectiveness of the South African National Defence Forces (SANDF).
The move also follows the withdrawal, less than a year ago, of the South Africa-led Southern African Development Community (SADC) mission in eastern DR Congo, which had been supporting the Congolese army in fighting AFC/M23 rebels.
That SADC mission — which included troops from Malawi and Tanzania — withdrew after government-allied forces lost control of the key cities of Goma and Bukavu. The coalition supporting the Congolese army included Burundian troops, the FDLR militia, European mercenaries, and local armed groups known as Wazalendo.
South Africa has been part of the UN peacekeeping operation in DR Congo since its initial deployment in 1999, when the mission was known as MONUC. According to UN Peacekeeping data, about 750 South African troops were still serving under MONUSCO as of October 2025.
The mission, now in its 27th year and operating on an annual budget exceeding $1 billion, has faced persistent criticism for failing to end recurring violence in eastern DR Congo, where more than 200 armed groups remain active. MONUSCO’s mandate was extended for another year in December 2025, and the mission currently includes around 16,000 uniformed personnel, among them approximately 14,000 soldiers.
