Rwanda-DRC : the Rwandan army fired on a Congolese fighter plane

Rwanda acknowledges “having taken defensive measures and fired on a Congolese warplane which violated the Rwandan airspace on Tuesday, January 24”. This is the third such incident reported by Rwandan authorities since November 2022. INFO SOS Médias Burundi

According to a statement from the Rwandan government posted on Twitter, the incident took place at 5:03 p.m. exactly. The Rwandan government speaks of provocation and calls on DRC to “stop this aggression”. The official site of the province of North Kivu in eastern Congo, bordering Rwanda, confirms the shootings.

“The plane was not hit, it triggered its anti-missile defense system and it was the flame that you saw and this flame destroyed the bomb fired by Rwanda”, says this site.

Since November 2021, this is the third time that Rwandan authorities have reported the violation of the airspace of the country of a thousand hills by a Congolese fighter plane. The recent incident dates back to the end of December.

On December 29, Rwanda accused the Congolese army of violating its airspace, which Congolese authorities denying the accusation in a statement.

Relations between both countries of the Great Lakes region of Africa have continued to deteriorate since the resurgence of the March 23 movement, the M23.

The former Tutsi rebellion which took up arms again at the end of 2021 accusing Congolese authorities of not having respected their commitments on the reintegration of its fighters is made up of Congolese Tutsis.

Congolese authorities remain convinced that it enjoys the support of Rwanda, which the Rwandan government continues to brush aside.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame has repeatedly accused the international community of “pampering Congolese leaders” and “paying lip service to peace” in recent times.