• The SANDF says that recent claims accompanying clips circulating on social media are misleading.
• This is after a video emerged of SANDF soldiers engaged with M23 rebels and raising a white flag.
• President Cyril Ramaphosa says that the SANDF is in the DRC as a peacekeeping force and soldiers are sufficiently equipped.

Reports that South African soldiers surrendered to M23 rebels and that the SANDF mobilised fighter jets to aid in the conflict are misleading, the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) said on Tuesday.

The video in question shows SANDF soldiers currently engaged with M23 rebel forces near Goma in the DRC, where a South African soldier is seen raising a white flag. The video has been circulated across social media, with many claiming it is evidence that the SANDF surrendered to the rebel fighters who have reportedly successfully taken the city.

You can hear small arms fire and a mortar in the video. Similar clips of the situation around Goma have raised concerns in the South African public that soldiers are not being sufficiently equipped and trained to deal with the situation.

🔴SANDF Has No Bullets & Surrenders In Goma🔴

NEWS⚡️

The South African National Defence Force 🇿🇦 has surrendered in Goma, DRC. Sources within the army have revealed that the soldiers have raised a white flag symbolising their surrender. The army is currently without ammunition. pic.twitter.com/UZK9hZhgEY

— The Insight Factor (@insightfactor) January 28, 2025

“The footage in question depicts a white flag raised, which is an outcome of discussions between the opposing fighting forces to agree on a truce to allow M23 to recover their dead and inured in the vicinity of our base,” reads the SANDF’s statement which it says will set the record straight.

“This will open a route for our troops to access medical facilities. This is common practice in any war.”

The defence force says the public should “not be alarmed by the video clip and its meaning.” Nine South African soldiers have been lost in the last few days of the conflict according to another statement by the SANDF, which is officially involved on the part of the DRC government as a UN affiliated peacekeeping force.

Circulations of the video on X, Facebook and TikTok were soon followed by posts claiming that South Africa scrambled fighter jets to intervene in the conflict.

ALERT || FAKE NEWS || SANDF UPDATES || The Insight Factor || “SANDF Sends Fighter Jets To The DRC”.

Fake News Alert by Defence Corporate Communication.#SANDF#FakeNews#FalseNews#DRC pic.twitter.com/IFxOI6mfOI

— SA National Defence Force 🇿🇦 (@SANDF_ZA) January 29, 2025

The SANDF has said that this piece of news is a fabrication from X account @InsightFactor. Sending fighter jets to the DRC, across Bostwana, Zimbabwe and Zambia would be a major escalation of the conflict and international news.

“We are concerned about the speculation about the state of our troops and the battle conditions. All South Africans must rally behind our brave men and women who have dedicated their lives to bringing peace in our continent,” said President Cyril Ramaphosa in a statement on Wednesday.

He said that the South African Minister of Defence Angie Motshekga is “working to ensure that the SAMIDRC forces [including SANDF] remain well equipped and sufficiently supported during this critical mission.”

[Image – Photo by israel palacio on Unsplash]