One of the 14 South African National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers killed in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will be buried in Kimberley in the Northern Cape on Friday next week.

Pieter Strydom will be buried after a private funeral service.

The soldiers were killed in fierce fighting between the M23 rebels and the Congolese military in eastern DRC about two weeks ago.

Their bodies were repatriated on Wednesday.

SANDF Repatriation | South Africa mourns fallen soldiers

Lance Corporal Strydom is one of the soldiers whose remains were handed to their families on Thursday in a ceremony attended by President Cyril Ramaphosa and Defence minister Angie Motshekga.

Meanwhile, the SANDF has apologised to Stydom’s family after he was previously referred to as private.

Lance Corporal Pieter Strydom was promoted in the mission area in the DRC.