GOMA - South Africa's ongoing peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo has recently led to the loss of 14 soldiers, whose bodies have since been repatriated.

WATCH: Discussion | DRC Conflict | SA mourns SANDF soldiers killed in DRC

This incident has sparked growing concerns about the country's role in the conflict, with some calling for the South African Defense Force to withdraw from the mission.

DRC senator, Jean Bamanisa Saidi discussed the situation with eNCA's Thembekile Mrototo.

Saidi said, "Firstly, I want to say thanks to the nation, the rainbow nation, the South African nation for what you are doing."

"Since a long time [ago], South Africa and the DRC are together since the 1980s."

"With [former] president [Nelson] Mandela we've opened the relations between the two countries and there was also a big meeting here, called the Sun City meeting and it put all these persons who are fighting; the East and the place in the Congo together to find a solution."

"We find [a solution], we go, we have a new constitution, we have a stabilised our government and all the institutions of the government but really we didn't understand that this problem [would] come again," he said.

The crisis in east DRC is planned to be discussed at an African Union meeting in Addis Ababa on Friday.