Rwanda-DRC : Rwandan forces killed a third Congolese soldier

The Rwandan army announced on Friday evening that it had killed a third Congolese soldier. In a press release, the Rwandan army said that the killed soldier had violated the Rwandan territory. Exchanges of fire took place on the border between Rwanda and the DRC. There was no immediate reaction from Congolese authorities. INFO SOS Médias Burundi

The document speaks of provocation. The Congolese soldier was shot at the end of the afternoon.

“Today (Friday), an FARDC (Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo) soldier crossed the border and fired on RDF (Rwandan Army) soldiers who hold the common border between the Grande Barrière and the Petite Barrière in Rubavu District, Western Province of Rwanda”, the statement said.

According to the Rwandan army, its soldiers responded, killing the Congolese soldier on the Rwandan territory.

“Several other FARDC soldiers opened fire on the Rwandan army post, which caused a brief exchange of fire”, the statement continued.

The Rwandan army announced on Friday evening that “the situation is calm”.

It recalls that this incident is part of several other cases in which Congolese soldiers violated the Rwandan territory.

Tense situation

This Friday evening, a troubled situation was observed at
Birere in the small market at the Petite Barrière.

“Several Congolese from Goma (capital of North Kivu) want to cross into Rwanda to sow chaos”, noted an SOS Médias Burundi reporter.

There was no immediate reaction from Congolese authorities on this incident. The element of the Congolese army killed by the Rwandan army on Friday is the third Congolese soldier to be killed by Rwandan forces since mid-June 2022. In the two previous cases, Rwandan authorities had also explained that the killed soldiers had crossed the border and started shooting at the guard towers of the Rwandan army, its soldiers, immigration officers and civilians.

Since the resurgence of M23, Kigali and Kinshasa have continually accused each other of provocation and sabotage. The former Tutsi rebellion which took up arms again at the end of 2021 accusing the Congolese government of not having respected its commitments on the reintegration of its fighters enjoys the support of Rwanda, according to Congolese authorities.

Rwanda denies these allegations and accuses Congolese leaders of collaborating with Rwandan FDLR genocidaires by providing them with uniforms, weapons and ammunition with the aim of “destabilizing its territory”.

On several occasions, Rwandan authorities have said that fighter jets from its western neighbor have violated its airspace. In only one case, the Rwandan army fired on a Congolese fighter plane.

Recently, the Rwandan army announced that it had repelled an attack by between 12 and 14 Congolese soldiers between the province of South Kivu in eastern Congo and the district of Rusizi in western Rwanda, again.

The Congolese army rejected the allegations, referring instead to armed men who had attacked its posts not far from the border with Rwanda, accusing the Rwandan army of “wanting to find a pretext to invade South Kivu as it is doing in North Kivu”.

This Wednesday, during a press conference in the capital Kigali, Rwandan President Paul Kagame recalled that “We have been ready to defend ourselves for a long time”, specifying that “Rwandan security officials have been prepared for a long time”. He spoke about bad relations between his country and the DRC.

Leaders of the sub-region are still struggling to find a solution to the security crisis prevailing in the east of the vast Central African country and to reconcile the two neighbors of the Great Lakes of Africa and members of the economic bloc of East Africa.