Congolese soldier killed as DRC, Rwandan soldiers clash at common border

In a statement, the Rwandan military accused a soldier of Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) of initiating the fighting on Friday evening when he “crossed over and shot at Rwandan soldiers manning the common border between Grande Barrière and Petite Barrière,” in western Rwanda’s Rubavu district.

“The RDF (Rwanda Defense Force) soldiers returned fire, killing the FARDC soldier on the Rwandan side of the border. Several other FARDC soldiers fired at the RDF position resulting in a brief exchange of fire,” the statement said, adding that later calm was restored at the border.

There was no immediate reaction from the Congolese military.

But the statement added that the Rwandan military has formally reported the incident to the Extended Joint Verification Mechanism (EJVM), a regional military framework for 12 countries of the Great Lakes region.

The latest incident came amid heightened tensions between the two countries over Congolese M23 rebels fighting in the country’s eastern North Kivu province.

DRC accuses Rwanda of supporting the rebels, a charge Kigali has repeatedly denied.

In June 2022, Rwanda said a Congolese soldier was killed and two Rwandan police officers injured in a similar shooting at the shared border in western Rwanda district near Goma, capital of the province of North Kivu.

Since last year, the M23 rebels have seized several cities and key towns in the North Kivu province such as Bunagana, a strategic town lying on the border with Uganda.

East African Community leaders meeting at a mini-summit in Addis Ababa last month gave Congolese armed groups until March 30 to withdraw from all occupied areas in the east.