Johannesburg - South African troops will pull out of the Central African Republic, President Jacob Zuma told a regional summit on the post-coup crisis on Wednesday night.
“President Zuma has decided to withdraw the South African forces which are deployed in Bangui,” Chadian President Idriss Deby said, adding that Zuma was ready to provide troops in the future if necessary.
Since the shooting nearly two weeks ago that left 13 SANDF soldiers dead and 27 others injured, Zuma has faced prickly questions over the presence of his troops.
And over the past few days he has come under increasing pressure to withdraw the troops.
The Presidency was not immediately available to comment or provide details on the withdrawal.
Sa National Defence Union spokesman Pikkie Greeff reacted cautiously to the announcement.
“This does not mean that it is over. A withdraw (sic) can just be a regrouping of forces,” he said.
“This withdraw is something we have been calling for since March 22. We always said there was no logic for those troops being there.”
But
Greeff said there were still worrying rumours of a South African troop build-up in Uganda, with jet fighters and helicopters within striking distance of the CAR.
DA leader Helen Zille said this was “welcome news for the family and friends of the troops stationed in the CAR, who over the last week have been in extraordinary danger”.
She urged the Presidency to brief the country on the full details of the withdrawal as soon as possible.
“We also reiterate our call for the president to offer a full explanation of why South African troops were deployed in the CAR in the first place,” she said.
The news of the withdrawal comes as The Star learnt that paratroopers or specialised soldiers were never supposed to be part of the CAR operation, a secret document shows.
According to a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between South Africa and the CAR, seen by The Star, South Africa’s presence in the country was for the “promotion of the training of military personnel through the exchange of trainees, instructors and observers”, and does not mention specialised soldiers.
The document raises more questions about the country’s botched mission to the strife-torn country.
The secret document also states how the two countries encouraged the “facilitation of industrial co-operation” in the defence field, such as the development and procurement of defence equipment by former leader Francois Bozize’s regime.
The MOU was first signed on February 11, 2007.
The agreement was later renewed by the two governments in December last year, even though Zuma had the option to terminate it when things seemed to be escalating out of control in the CAR.
According to reports, the latest rebellion against Bozize’s government was launched in December, more than three months before the attack on the South African base camp.
The six-page document states: “This MOU shall be terminated by either party giving three months’ notice in writing to the other party – through the diplomatic channels – of its intention to terminate this MOU.”
DA defence spokesman David Maynier said the “secret” MOU was “clear evidence that the scope of the defence agreement went way beyond training and included ‘industrial co-operation’, at least in the defence sector.
“This reinforces the view that business interests may have been served by the deployment of the SANDF in the CAR,” said Maynier.
Greeff said one outstanding question that still needed to be answered was why the defence force had sent its specialised fighters, who were trained to kill and not to train personnel.
The Star
IOLSA