Coming as it did only weeks after the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) suffered its worst combat loss since 1994 in the Central African Republic, news that South Africa has committed troops to a United Nations (UN) Security Council-sanctioned ‘intervention brigade’ in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is justifiably receiving prominence.

The first issue to note is that resolution 2098, which was approved unanimously during a Security Council vote on March 28, is a material departure from previous peacekeeping models. It authorises the creation of the first-ever ‘offensive’ combat force to ‘neutralise and disarm’ the 23 March Movement, or M23, as well as other armed Congolese and foreign groups operating in the North Kivu province.

Drafted by the French, the resolution has extended the mandate of the United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the DRC, or Monusco, to March 31, 2014. Importantly, it also authorises the creation of a specialised brigade, comprising three infantry battalions, within Monusco’s existing 19 815-strong force. It has been confirmed that, besides the SANDF, the 3 069-strong brigade will be made up of battalions from Tanzania and Malawi.

The brigade has been tasked with carrying out offensive operations “in a robust, highly mobile and versatile manner” to disrupt the activities of groups such as M23, which has already rejected the UN’s decision to establish the intervention force.

UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon has stood his ground, arguing that the resolution “sets out a new, comprehensive approach aimed at addressing the root causes of instability in the eastern DRC”. He has also appointed Mary Robinson, the former President of Ireland and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, as his special envoy for the Great Lakes region to work with all stake-holders to advance the process.

On the positive side, the SANDF is participating in a mission, which, unlike the CAR operation, has the full endorsement of the international community. It also has the support of regional leaders, with the chairperson of the African Union Commission, the chairperson of the Southern African Development Community and the chairperson of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region having joined Ban in signing the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the DRC and the region in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on February 24, 2013.

Nevertheless, South Africans need to pay close attention to this mission, as well as to broader developments in the Great Lakes so that we are not again taken by surprise by developments involving our soldiers. In addition, we should demand that our troops receive the support required to conduct what is obviously a dangerous mission in a way that minimises the risks.

True, soldiers understand that their occupation presupposes that they are, at times, placed in harm’s way. But the task of those giving the orders is not simply to remind them and us of the perils soldiers face. It is also to ensure that the mission’s objectives are well defined and that they do all in their power to equip the troops with the intelligence and equipment needed to enable them to meet those objectives as safely as possible.