Malawi army declares 2 missing soldiers in DRC dead

Malawi Defence Force (MDF) has declared two soldiers who went missing in the Democratic Republic of Congo two years ago dead.

MDF spokesperson Paul Chiphwanya said it was doubtful that the two soldiers would be found alive.

“We have already informed the families of this decision. This determination is necessary as it has started the procedures of making compensation and graduity for their families,” said Chiphwanya.

Two MDF soldiers are still missing since they were sent into the battlefield under Force Intervention Brigade before exchange of fire with a rebel group called Allied Defence Force (ADF) in November 2018 in DRC.

They were part of the United Nations Organisations Stabilisation Mission (Monusco) team which also has South African and Tanzanian troops.

During the intervention, six soldiers, who were part of the 850-member MDF squad, were killed and others injured.

“As already communicated in the press statements issued after the tragedy, a number of procedures were put in place to ensure that the two missing soldiers are located and secured,” he said in quotes reported by Malawi News.

It was reported that at least 18 Malawian soldiers were victims of the operation.

Malawi first provided UN peacekeepers in 1994 when the country became a democracy after 31 years of one-party rule.
Since then, peacekeepers from

MDF have served in several missions, mainly in Africa but also beyond such as in Kosovo.

Malawi’s stature in international peacekeeping increased in 2013 when it started contributing a battalion to Monusco’s Force Intervention Brigade in DRC.
Before that, from 2011 to mid-2013, Malawi’s other major deployment was a battalion in Unoci in Côte d’Ivoire.

The brigade currently comprises approximately 3,000 forces from the three countries.

ADF is an Islamic-rooted group that was formed in western Uganda in 1995, led by Jamil Mukulu, a Christian turned Muslim.

Forced out of Uganda, it operates in the border area in DRC’s North Kivu province.

It has been blamed for recruiting and using child soldiers, killing hundreds of civilians since 2014 as well as 15 Tanzanian peacekeepers who died in an attack in December 2017.

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