The remains were transported through the main Rwanda-DRC border crossing, La Corniche, around noon on Friday in a truck belonging to the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the DRC (MONUSCO). They were escorted by other UN vehicles.

After arriving in Rwanda, the convoy continued to the Cyanika border post, from where it was set to proceed to Kampala, Uganda. The bodies will later be flown to South Africa via Entebbe International Airport.

Four other bodies, two each of deceased soldiers from Malawi and Tanzania, were also repatriated from Goma on Friday.

Some of the soldiers were killed in the battle to capture Goma City, while others perished in clashes in Sake involving M23, the Congolese military, and allied coalition forces.

Earlier reports indicated that the bodies had begun to decompose and remained scattered in different locations, having not been placed in hospital mortuaries.

The repatriation was initially scheduled for Wednesday but was delayed due to negotiations between M23, South Africa and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which is contributing troops to the eastern Congo.

The bodies were cleared for transport after M23, which now controls Goma, agreed to hand them over to South Africa through MONUSCO, the UN mission in the region.

The repatriation of the bodies is a sigh of relief for the South African Defence Force (SANDF) and the South African government, which had come under heavy criticism from members of parliament over the mission in eastern Congo.

Members of the South African Parliament on Tuesday rejected Defense Minister Angelina Matsie Motshekga’s explanation that South African soldiers were sent to the DRC to restore peace in the eastern region.

The MPs argued that the true nature of the mission was unclear, with some asserting that the troops should be withdrawn immediately.

Amid pressure on the government to recall the troops, President Cyril Ramaphosa, during a State of the Nation address on Thursday, hinted at bringing the soldiers home in response to growing calls for a political solution to the conflict in the eastern region.

The conflict pits the Congolese government against the M23 rebel group, which is fighting the marginalization and persecution of Congolese Rwandophones—a situation that has persisted for decades.

Heads of state from the East African Community and SADC will be holding an extraordinary summit in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, this weekend to address the escalating conflict.

The remains were transported in a United Nations (UN) truck across the Rwandan border into Uganda on Friday and are set to be flown home via Entebbe International Airport.