Durban — The SANDF condemns allegations that US military personnel who are in South Africa were in the country to protect certain government officials.
SANDF spokesperson Brigadier General Andries Mahapa said the US Army Southern European Task Force is in South Africa to conduct a joint and multinational peace support operation and humanitarian relief exercise with the SANDF under the operational code name Exercise Shared Accord 2022.
It was an exercise between the two militaries.
Last week, the SANDF announced that it would conduct a joint and multinational peace support operation and humanitarian relief exercise with the US Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF) of the US Armed Forces.
Mahapa said Exercise Shared Accord 2022 is the fourth exercise of this nature to be planned and executed in South Africa.
Previous exercises took place in 2011, 2013 and 2017. The last exercise was conducted in the Northern Cape at the SA Army Combat Training Centre Lohatlha, with the next exercise scheduled for 2020. But due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, all joint exercises were suspended.
“The aim of Exercise Shared Accord 2022 is mainly to improve the bilateral military interoperability to conduct maritime force protection against conventional and asymmetric threats at sea, harbours, conduct air support operations to Peace Support Operations for landward forces and exercise the provision of medical assistance and humanitarian relief to own forces and the local population. The exercise is scheduled from July 5-27 in and around Richards Bay in KwaZulu-Natal,” Mahapa said.
He said Exercise Shared Accord came about as a result of bilateral Defence Force Committee discussions that originated in 2009 and was approved by the Military Command Council in 2010.
“The SANDF would like to reiterate that the US Army is in South Africa for a joint exercise, and not for any other agenda as speculated on social platforms,” Mahapa said.
“The SANDF wants to assure all South Africans that the multinational exercise named Shared Accord has nothing to do with protecting any government official in RSA, but rather pure joint training.”
Daily News