A Congolese soldier identified with the Republican Guard, accused of having crossed the border between the DRC and Rwanda, was killed on Friday by Rwandan forces guarding the common border between Grande Barrière and Petite Barrière in the district of Rubavu, in the western province of Rwanda .
A team from the Extended Joint Verification Mechanism (EJVM) on Saturday, March 4, visited the scene in Rubavu District where a soldier of the Congolese army (FARDC) crossed over from the DR Congo and shot at RDF soldiers manning the common border on Friday before he was shot and killed.
According to a statement from the Rwandan army, the incident occurred around 5:35 p.m. Elements of the Rwandan force opened fire on this Congolese soldier who, according to the RDF, was firing against his positions. Heavy fire between the two forces ensued.
“The Rwandan Defense Forces soldiers returned fire, killing the FARDC soldier on the Rwandan side of the border. Several other FARDC soldiers fired on the position of the Rwandan Defense Forces, resulting in a brief exchange of fire”, details the RDF press release, adding however that the situation is now “calm”.
Moreover, Kigali notes that this incident adds to several other similar incidents of violations of Rwandan territory by soldiers of the DRC army. “The Rwandan Defense Forces officially communicated the incident to the Extended Joint Verification Mechanism,” the same statement read.
Moreover, neither the Congolese forces nor the Congolese government have yet officially communicated on this umpteenth incident. Relations between Kigali and Kinshasa are still not looking good, in the context of the very volatile security situation in the east of the country.
