South Africa Flays Its Ex-Soldiers’ Involvement In Terror War

South African Minister of International Relations and Co-operation, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane (Photo: Getty Images)

Former South African soldiers (or mercenaries) becoming involved in other African countries' skirmishes and conflicts, even coups, is nothing new. Students of African War History would realize that in several conflicts in the southern African sub-region and other sub-regions have including the Nigeria-Biafra War have included the fingers of South African soldiers of fortune. This is part and parcel of the unwritten South African history pre-dating apartheid. But the present South African authorities are not comfortable that SA ex-soldiers are involved in Nigeria's growing insurgency.

Earlier on Tuesday, South Africa flayed the alleged involvement of its ex-soldiers in fight against Boko Haram, The Punch reports.

“We always discourage South Africans from entering the fray in a situation like that,” the South African Minister of International Relations and Co-operation, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane,   told journalists   in Addis Ababa, ahead of the African Union summit.

“We’ve also read with dismay in the newspapers that there was such (in Nigeria),” the City Express quoted her as adding.

Another newspaper, Beeld newspaper, reported that a team of about 100 South African soldiers were in Nigeria – at the Federal Government’s request – to help train soldiers to hit back at Boko Haram.

The paper claimed that a member of the   team said that their first task   was to stop the terrorists’ bloody raids.

Nkoana-Mashabane did not want to talk about government or regional plans to intervene in the situation in Nigeria, but said these would be discussed during a meeting of the AU Peace and Security Council on Thursday.

The meeting is due to get feedback on the plans of   the Economic Community of West African States and how the AU is set to support these.

Nkoana-Mashabane expressed concern that Boko Haram’s “tentacles” were also spreading to Nigeria’s neighbours.

But the Director Defence Information, Maj.Gen.Chris Olukolade, said that the country’s partners in the campaign against terrorism were known.

He said that the input of the partners was in the area of exchange of ideas.

Olukolade said that only Nigerian troops were deployed in the operation in all the fronts.

He said, “We have partners across the world, and they are known. Their input is in the area of exchange of ideas. Deployment all over Nigeria involves only Nigerian troops.”

A source at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said it was absurd for the South African minister to go to the media to complain about the purported presence of South African ex-servicemen in the country.

He said, “The minister’s complaint in the media only showed the magnitude of conspiracy against the country within the African continent. Some of them cannot wait to see this country come down on its knees. God forbid it. Why should the South African minister be complaining if the plot is not to bring down the country. This is another indication of the conspiracy against the Nigerian state.

“It shows the wish of the South Africans for Nigeria. It also shows the extent of the conspiracy against Nigeria among African nations.”