South Africa, Malawi and Uruguay have announced that soldiers from their respective armies were killed as they battled to halt the advance of M23 rebel fighters in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The South African National Defense Force (SANDF) said nine of its soldiers were killed on Saturday during a pitched battle with M23 fighters as they attempted to advance on the city of Goma, the key city in the mineral-rich east.

South African military says M23 advance halted

"The M23 hostile forces had launched a full-scale attack on our troops with the intention of taking over Goma but were unable to advance due to the heroic resistance put up by our gallant fighters," the SANDF said in a statement.

South Africa's military said its forces were able to halt the advance and push the M23 rebels back.

The SANDF said the number of injured had yet to be confirmed, and some had varying degrees of injuries.

Two of the killed South African soldiers were part of the UN peacekeeping force, while the other seven South Africans were part of the Southern African Development Community Mission, also known as SAMIDRC.

"The rebel group M23 attacked the SAMIDRC in Goma to which SAMIDRC retaliated and successfully repelled the armed group," the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Secretariat posted on X. 

"SADC commends the actions of the brave men and women from SAMIDRC who sacrificed their lives for the Region," it added.

Malawian, Uruguayan soldiers also killed

Before South Africa's military confirmed the number of its dead, the Malawi Defence Force said three of its soldiers had been killed.

"We confirm the loss of three of our courageous soldiers who were part of the SADC Mission in the DRC," said spokesman Emmanuel Mlelemba.

"These soldiers fell in the line of duty during an encounter with the M23 rebel group operating in eastern DRC. As the situation remains volatile, further details will be shared later," he added.

A Uruguayan member of the UN peacekeeping force was also killed while four others were wounded, Uruguay's military announced.

UN Security Council reschedules emergency meeting to Sunday

The UN Security Council has moved an emergency meeting from Monday to Sunday, following a request from Kinshasa.

Diplomats said the emergency talks would take place at 10 a.m. (1500 GMT).

The head of the UN peacekeeping mission in Congo, Bintou Keita, is expected to speak.

Kinshasa has also announced it was pulling its diplomats from Kigali, according to a letter from the Foreign Ministry to the Rwandan Embassy dated January 24.

The UN peacekeeping force, also known as MONUSCO, entered Congo more than two decades ago and has around 14,000 peacekeepers on the ground.

Experts from Congo, the United States and the UN have accused Rwanda of backing the M23 armed group. The rebels are mainly composed of ethnic Tutsis who broke away from the Congolese army over a decade ago.

kb/rm (AFP, Reuters)