The Rwandan government on Monday accused the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) of a «provocation» after one of its military aircraft entered its airspace, amid bilateral tensions over the March 23 Movement (M23) rebel group.
«A DRC Sukhoi-25 fighter jet from the DRC violated Rwandan airspace at 11:20 a.m. (local time) and landed briefly at Rubavu airport in the Western province,» the Rwandan government said in a brief statement. Rubavu is located on the border between the two countries.
It stressed that «Rwanda did not take military action in response» and added that the plane «returned to the DRC». «The Rwandan authorities have protested this provocation to the DRC government, which has acknowledged the incident,» he added.
The incident has taken place a day after Kinshasa and Kigali agreed to accelerate as much as possible the agreement to ease bilateral tension over M23 activity in northeastern Congo, amid Congolese accusations against Rwanda for allegedly supporting the group Rwanda has denied the accusations and pointed the finger at the Congolese government for backing the rebel movement of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), in a crisis fueled by a major M23 advance in the North Kivu territories that culminated last week with the expulsion of the Rwandan ambassador to DRC, Vincent Karenga.
The M23 has been accused since November 2021 of carrying out attacks against DRC Army positions in North Kivu, seven years after the parties reached a truce. UN experts have accused Uganda and Rwanda of supporting the rebels, although both countries have denied this.
