2 killed, 3 injured by mortar explosion in eastern Congo

 The South African National Defense Force believes the incident was caused by 'indirect fire'

• Two South African soldiers were killed and three wounded when a mortar bomb hit an eastern Congo base on Wednesday.
• The South African National Defense Force believes the incident was caused by an "indirect fire" and is investigating.
• South Africa has deployed troops to Congo as part of the Southern African Development Community's mission against armed rebel groups in the region.
• Two South African soldiers were killed and three wounded when mortars hit their base in eastern Congo, the South African armed forces said on Thursday, amid growing unrest in the region.

The South African National Defense Force, which oversees all of the country's armed forces, said it believed Wednesday's mortar explosion was the result of "indirect fire" and that an investigation was underway to determine who was responsible. Was.

South Africa has sent troops to Congo as part of the Southern African Development Community's mission to fight against armed rebel groups in the east.

South Africa announced this week it would send a new contingent of 2,900 troops to eastern Congo. It was not immediately clear whether those killed and injured were part of that new deployment.

South African National Defense Force spokesman Siphiwe Dlamini said the base attacked was in North Kivu province. The injured were taken to a hospital in Goma city.

Violence has escalated in the conflict-hit region in recent weeks, with several attacks blamed on the M23 rebel group, which has been fighting Congolese troops in the region for years.

The Congolese government says the M23 is receiving military support from neighboring Rwanda, which Rwanda denies.

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But M23 has indicated in recent statements that it is in the midst of a new advance in eastern Congo, raising fears that the group is again targeting Goma, which it captured 10 years ago Was.

Aid groups say more than 1 million people have been displaced by the conflict since November. It adds to the 6.9 million people who had already fled their homes in one of the world's largest humanitarian crises.

On Thursday, the Norwegian Refugee Council said recent advances by armed groups towards the key town of Sake, near Goma, "pose an imminent threat to the entire aid system" in eastern Congo.

"Isolating Goma, home to more than 2 million people and hosting thousands of displaced people fleeing conflict with armed groups, will have devastating consequences for the region," the NRC said..