Pretoria – South Africa has announced the withdrawal of its troops from the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).
President Cyril Ramaphosa has informed the UN Secretary‑General Antonio Guterres of the South African government’s decision to withdraw its contribution of soldiers to MONUSCO.
South Africa ranks amongst the top 10 troop‑contributing countries to MONUSCO, with a force presence of over 700 soldiers deployed in the DRC in support of the Mission’s peacekeeping mandate.
Announcing the move late Saturday, 7 February 2026, the Presidency revealed that: “In a telephone conversation held on 12 January 2026, President Ramaphosa indicated that South Africa’s unilateral withdrawal decision from MONUSCO is influenced by the need to consolidate and realign the resources of the South African National Defence Force, following 27 years of South Africa’s support to UN peacekeeping efforts in the DRC”.
MONUSCO was established by the UN Security Council in 1999, initially to support the 1999 Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement.
With persistent conflict in the DRC, the mission has evolved with a mandate to protect civilians, humanitarian personnel, and human rights defenders under imminent threat of physical violence, and to support the DRC government in stabilisation and peace‑consolidation efforts.
“South Africa will work jointly with the UN to finalise the timelines and other modalities of the withdrawal, which will be completed before the end of 2026,” the statement issued by the Presidency said.
“President Ramaphosa has welcomed the appreciation expressed by the UN Secretary‑General regarding South Africa’s decision.”
Vincent Magwenya, spokesperson to the President, said the South African government will continue to maintain close bilateral relations with the government of the DRC, as well as provide ongoing support to other multilateral efforts by the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union (AU), and the United Nations (UN) aimed at bringing lasting peace.
