The Congolese Army has confirmed that the soldier killed on Saturday by Rwandan forces on the other side of the border belonged to its ranks, although it has not yet confirmed that he opened fire on the Rwandan military, as reported from Kigali.
«After verification, it has been confirmed that he (the soldier) is indeed a member of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC)», confirmed the Congolese military spokesman, colonel Guillaume Ndjike, on an incident that occurred at the height of bilateral tension.
The Congolese government accuses Rwanda of supporting the rebel group March 23 Movement (M23) during the bloody clashes that have flared up in recent weeks in the Congolese province of North Kivu, something that Kigali has strongly denied.
The spokesman, in a statement picked up by Actualité, it is about a recruit «recently assigned to the province» who «got lost without realizing it, especially at night».
According to Rwanda, the soldier ended up crossing the border between the two countries and opened fire on a watchtower before being shot dead by Rwandan forces.
According to the Rwandan military communiqué, the incident took place at 01.00 local time this morning when the «unidentified soldier, who could be a member of the Congolese Armed Forces», crossed the border through the village of Ruvabu and started shooting at a Rwandan Army watchtower.
A military patrol «shot him dead before he caused any damage,» the Rwandan Army added.
The Rwandan Army eventually placed the investigation in the hands of the Joint Expanded Verification Mechanism (JVCM), a group of military experts from member states of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) that monitors and investigates security incidents, before assuring that «the situation on the border remains calm.»
