The Rwandan Army on Wednesday accused the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) of firing on one of its border posts in a new escalation of tensions on the South Kivu border.
In a statement, the Rwandan Army claims that at around 4:40 a.m. (local time), a group of 12 to 14 Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) military personnel entered a neutral zone and opened fire on a border post located in the Rwandan district of Rusizi, in Western Province.
«Our security forces responded and the FARDC military withdrew. At 0554 hours, FARDC forces visited the site and cleared the area. There were no casualties on the Rwandan side and the situation is calm,» the statement reads.
For his part, the governor of South Kivu, Théo Kasi, denied that it was a clash between Congolese and Rwandan soldiers, but that it was «an altercation between security forces and armed criminals».
«There was an exchange of fire between the defense and security forces and these outlaws carrying firearms,» he said in a statement, adding that one assailant was killed and another wounded, as reported by the Actualité news portal.
Moreover, Kasi denied that the FARDC soldiers had crossed into the neutral zone or opened fire in the direction of Rwanda, assuring that Rwanda’s declarations are its «tendency to want to victimize itself and create tension».
The rebel March 23 Movement (M23) has been accused since November 2021 of carrying out attacks against Congolese Army positions in North Kivu, despite the authorities and the group signed in December 2013 a peace agreement that was supported by UN troops following fighting since 2012.
The situation has led to a spike in tensions between DRC and Rwanda, as Kinshasa accuses Kigali of supporting the rebels. Kigali, for its part, denounces Kinshasa’s backing of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), founded and composed mainly of Hutus responsible for the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
