Spokesperson to the President Vincent Magwenya on Friday reiterated Cyril Ramaphosa’s directive made during the State of the Nation Address (SoNA) that the national flag be flown at half-mast at all flag stations for seven days, in honour of the soldiers who lost their lives in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The South African forces were part of the Southern African Development Community Mission in the DRC, deployed in December.

During Thursday evening’s SoNA, Ramaphosa read out the names of the 14 fallen soldiers and said flags would fly at half-mast from Friday.

Criticisms have been made over the adequacy of support for the soldiers, with the Democratic Alliance preparing to use an upcoming debate in Parliament to demand answers on why South African National Defence Force members remain in armed conflict in eastern DRC.

In his SoNA, Ramaphosa stressed that the soldiers had lost their lives defending the rights of the Congolese people to live in peace and security.

“They lost their lives not in the pursuit of resources, territory or power. They lost their lives so that the guns on our continent may be forever silenced. We salute our gallant soldiers," he said.