Rwandan troops killed a Congolese soldier who crossed the tense border between the two countries on Saturday, Rwanda’s defense ministry and the Congolese army said.
Rwanda’s Ministry of Defense said the soldier entered Rwanda’s Rubavu district and began shooting at watchtowers of the Rwandan Defense Forces.
Congolese army spokesman Colonel Guillaume Njike said the soldier was a new recruit who may have wandered across the border after getting lost during a night patrol. The incident was under investigation.
“After verification, it is indeed an element of the armed forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo that has been newly appointed,” Njike said.
Tensions have flared between Congo and Rwanda in recent months over Congolese accusations that Rwanda supports the M23 rebel group, which has been fighting the Congolese government for a decade. Rwanda denies the allegations.
On Saturday, Congolese Prime Minister Sama Lukonde, who is representing President Felix Tsiskedi at a summit of French-speaking countries in Tunisia, refused to take part in a group photo to avoid sharing the stage with Rwandan President Paul Kagame, a Congolese government spokesman said in a statement. statement
M23 has carried out several offensives in eastern Congo this year, with clashes between the army and rebels that have displaced thousands of civilians since March.
Regional authorities are working to improve relations between Rwanda and Congo. Former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and Rwanda’s Kagame agreed Friday on the need for a ceasefire by the M23 rebels and a withdrawal from captured territories in eastern Congo, the East African Community bloc said.
