Four soldiers from the Southern African Development Community peacekeeping force have been killed in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, the SADC secretariat said in a statement.
According to the bloc's statement, three of the dead were serving with the Tanzanian contingent, while another was from South Africa. Three other soldiers were wounded, SADC added.
The 16-member SADC approved the mission to the eastern DR Congo in May last year, while the East African Community (EAC) peacekeeping mandate was still in force there.
In late November 2023, EAC leaders said that the DRC government had decided not to renew the mandate of the EAC regional force after it expires on December 8.
The DR Congo government criticized East African bloc forces for failing to address security concerns in the east of the country.
In February, the South African government announced a decision to deploy almost 3,000 soldiers to the east of the DRC as part of the SADC mission.
In addition to the South African and Tanzanian contingents, Malawian troops also participate in the DRC mission, according to SADC.
Security in the eastern part of the country has been a serious problem for the DRC in recent years due to a large-scale armed anti-government campaign by the March 23 Movement (M23) rebels.