DR Congo soldier killed in gunfire on Rwandan border

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
17 Jun 2022 20:39
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DR Congo soldier was shot dead on the Rwanda border during an exchange of fire.

DR Congo soldier killed in gunfire on the Rwandan border.

A DR Congo soldier was killed in the country's flashpoint eastern region on Friday during an exchange of fire at a border post with Rwanda, while Rwanda said two of its soldiers were injured, according to police.

The incident occurred at a border post in the eastern Congolese city of Goma, they said, coinciding with rising tensions between the two countries.

"A Congolese soldier rushed forward, opening fire in the direction of the Rwandan border," a Congolese policeman who was present told AFP.

"A Rwandan soldier opened fire and he died on the spot. There was then an exchange of fire between us and the Rwandan security forces. Some of the civilians who were waiting to cross the border were wounded."

The Rwandan army later confirmed the incident, claiming that a Congolese soldier crossed the border and began firing at troops and civilians with an AK-47 assault rifle, injuring two Rwandan soldiers.

"The Congolese soldier was shot dead 25 meters (yards) inside Rwandan territory," the statement said.

According to an AFP correspondent, the Congolese soldier's body was repatriated to DR Congo in the early afternoon, where it was met by an applauding crowd.

Observers from the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) met with Congolese and Rwandan officials at the border for a brief meeting.

Around a hundred demonstrators tried to march to the border post while chanting anti-Rwanda President Paul Kagame slogans.

Fighting between Congolese troops and the M23 rebel movement has heightened tensions between the two neighbors.

The government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo accuses Rwanda of supporting, funding, and arming the rebels, a charge that Kigali repeatedly denies.

Last month, the DRC army confirmed that it was holding two Rwandan troops, a day after Kigali accused it of supporting the rebels who seized them.

Rwanda claimed on Saturday that the two soldiers were kidnapped by a Hutu rebel group operating in eastern DRC. However, the DRC army, on the other hand, claimed the soldiers were trespassing on its territory and had been apprehended by civilians.

Brigadier General Sylvain Ekenge of the Democratic Republic of the Congo said the detention of the two troops was "evidence" that the Rwandan army was operating on its neighbor's territory.