Africa-Press – Uganda. Rwanda’s army has killed a soldier of the Democratic Republic of Congo and captured two others in what the Rwandan government said was their territory on the same day the Southern African Development Community (SADC) forces launched operations against M23 rebels.
In a statement by Rwanda Defence Forces, they said three Congolese soldiers armed with an AK47 crossed into Rwanda leading to a shooting of one dead and capture of two others at around 11am on January 16.
“Two of the soldiers, Sgt Asman Mupenda Termite and Cpl Anyasaka Nkoi Lucien were arrested by the RDF patrols supported by local neighbhourhood watch (Irondo). The FARDC soldiers had in their possession one AK47 gun, four magazines with 105 rounds, one protective vest, and cannabis sachets. The third soldier was shot dead when he fired at the patrols,” the statement reads in part.
The incident happened as Congolese military officers and SADC troops from South Africa, Malawi and Tanzania were meeting to launch an operation against M23 rebels in eastern DRC.
The Congolese government has not yet responded to the incident.
This is among the recent incidents in which Rwandan troops have shot dead Congolese soldiers along the border.
Last year, Rwanda shot and damaged a Congolese fighter jet claiming that it had entered its territory.
The Sukhoi-25 was returning from bombing M23 rebels, whom the DRC government claims Rwanda is backing.
In another incident, a Sukhoi-25 entered Rwanda territory and the pilot attempted to land on a Rwandan airport near the border.
The Congolese pilot had mistaken the Rwanda airport for Goma airport. Both airports are located at the border.
Tension between the two countries has continued to rise.
The SADC troops yesterday launched air strikes against M23 rebels’ command centres. The SADC troops were deployed in December last year to replace the East African Community Regional Forces (EACRF) that withdrew from eastern DRC after the Congolese government declined to extend their mandate.
According to local media reports, the Congolese and SADC military forces said, unlike the EACFC, they would participate in the fight against M23 rebels.
Meanwhile, President Paul Kagame yesterday met the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Davos, Switzerland and talked about the conflict in eastern DRC.
In a statement issued by the US State Department, President Kagame said he was looking at more efforts including by the United States to solve the problems in the region.
“I’m looking forward to our discussion to see how we can take the further steps and continue more efforts to bring…conclusion to the conflict,” President Kagame said.
Mr Blinken said: “We are committed to doing everything we can to support the efforts that are being made, including by Angola, by Kenya, to support a peaceful resolution to differences and avoiding conflict in the eastern DRC.”
He added: ‘‘We very much appreciate the work that’s been done, especially over the last couple of months.”
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