Rwanda-DRC : the Congolese army denies having provoked that of Rwanda

This Thursday, Congolese army officials in Bukavu in the province of South Kivu (eastern DRC) reacted to the incident reported by Rwanda a day earlier. While Rwanda has spoken of a violation of the no-man’s zone space by Congolese soldiers, FARDC claim that perpetrators are a band of Congolese outlaws. The Congolese army, which regrets the death of its soldier, reports that one of the thugs was killed, four others captured and a rifle and ammunition seized. INFO SOS Médias Burundi

It was General Yav Avul Ngola Robert, commander of the 33rd Military Regiment, who reacted in a press release.

“FARDC are surprised to hear that the Rwandan territory was reportedly the object of any attack on the part of our forces”, he said astonished, accusing Rwanda of having recovered the incident “for the purposes of manipulation” in order to “destabilize the province of South Kivu as it does in North Kivu”.

In the same press release, the Congolese army specifies that a group of Congolese outlaws instead attacked one of its posts located at Rusizi II. The press release even details the toll.

“On the thugs side, one person was neutralized and two others injured, four were captured and an AK-47 and ammunition were seized”, says the document.

The reaction came a day after Kigali announced that its army repelled an attack by Congolese soldiers on Wednesday morning. The incident took place between Rusizi district in Rwanda’s western province and South Kivu province in eastern Congo, according to the Rwandan army.

This is not the first time that the two neighbors have accused each other of acts of provocation.

In November and June 2022, two Congolese soldiers were killed by Rwandan forces. Both incidents happened at the border post known as “Petite Barrière”. It is between the district of Rubavu (western Rwanda) and the city of Goma (capital of North Kivu) in the east of the DRC. And recently the Rwandan army fired on a Congolese fighter jet that had violated the Rwandan airspace, according to Rwandan authorities. The Congolese government has denied these allegations.