President Cyril Ramaphosa said South Africa’s military will extend the deployment of its troops in conflict-hit Mozambique and Democratic Republic of Congo

The extension, for an unspecified amount of time, will keep 1,198 personnel of the South African National Defence Force in eastern Congo, where they are part of a U.N. peacekeeping force helping Congo fight rebel groups.

The statement also said that 1,495 members would continue their operations in Mozambique, where they have been supporting the government’s fight against violent extremism in northern areas since 2021.

South Africa’s military deployments abroad have come under domestic scrutiny this year, after two soldiers were killed and three wounded by a mortar bomb in Congo in February.