Rwanda-DRC: Congolese fighter plane violated Rwandan airspace (press release)

The Rwandan government has announced that its airspace has been violated by a DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) fighter jet. According to a statement from the Rwandan government, the Congolese authorities acknowledged the incident. INFO SOS Médias Burundi

According to the press release, the action took place exactly at 11:20 a.m. on Monday morning, November 7, 2022.

“The plane briefly landed at the Rubavu airport (Western province of Rwanda)”, Rwanda affirms adding “the Congolese authorities have recognized the incident”, after its protest.

Relations are continuously worsening between the two countries of the Great Lakes of Africa following the ongoing crisis in the east of the vast country of Central Africa where the M23, an armed group composed of Congolese Tutsis continues to gain ground, with President Félix Tshisekedi himself accusing Rwanda of supporting this rebel group.

The Head of State called, on Thursday evening, for a general mobilization against “Rwandan aggression”, days after the expulsion of the Rwandan ambassador to Kinshasa and a series of accusations by the Congolese authorities against the Rwandan army.

The Rwanda accuses the FARDC (Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo) of collaborating with the genocidal FDLR to undermine its territory.

Relations steadly deteriorate as the Nairobi process triggered by EAC heads of state in June this year excludes the M23 from the talks. The President of Burundi, head of the rotating presidency of the EAC, and the former President of Kenya also facilitator in the congolese crisis, announced it last Friday during a meeting on possible solutions to end the crisis prevailing in eastern Congo.

The M23, a former Tutsi rebellion which took up arms again at the end of 2021, denounces the Congolese authorities for not respecting its commitments on the reintegration of its fighters.

On the ground, tens of thousands of civilians continue to flee their localities to find shelter in areas deemed more secure or even in Uganda.