Grieving for the loss of South African soldiers defending the people of the eastern DR Congo, Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, who himself has family in the SA National Defence Force, has composed the following prayer for use in Anglican churches and beyond:

Father God,

We pray today for the souls of our soldiers killed in the eastern DR Congo in recent days,

We grieve with and pray for consolation for their families,

We pray for the recovery of those injured,

And we acknowledge and give thanks for the sacrifices our men and women make on our behalf as they fulfill our obligation to help protect our African sisters and brothers from insurgent violence.

Lord God, we pray that the international community will be moved by your Spirit to show the same compassion for Africans who suffer the horrors of war as those of other nations,

We pray for the force of arms to be replaced by the politics of peace,

And that SADC, the African Union and the United Nations will intensify efforts to achieve longlasting peace and stability to the DRC, Sudan and Mozambique,

As we send our condolences to the families of those who died, we pledge to keep them in our prayers,

For Jesus Christ's sake, Amen