Any South African National Defence Force soldier found guilty will be ‘brought to book’.
Defence officials are investigating a “despicable” video circulating on social media which seems to show regional soldiers, including at least one member of the South African National Defence Force, contemptuously tossing the bodies of dead insurgents onto a pile of burning rubble, apparently after a battle in northern Mozambique.
The incident appears to have taken place on 29 November 2022 near Nkonga village, in the Nangade district of Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province where a regional force called SAMIM and Rwandan troops have been fighting jihadi forces of Ahlu Sunnah Wa-Jamaah (ASWJ) – affiliated to the Islamic State – since July 2021.
SAMIM – the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Mission in Mozambique – had announced on 30 November that two SAMIM soldiers, a Tanzanian and a Botswanan, and “over 30” ASWJ insurgents had been killed in the battle at Nkonga village.
The video shows the soldiers in military uniform throwing the dead bodies on a pile of burning rubbish, along with furniture and other objects. A uniformed soldier, clearly showing the South African flag on his sleeve, stands by and watches, apparently filming the scene on…