The Democratic Republic of Congo’s army has revealed that Rwandan forces crossed its border earlier today, to attack its frontier security forces.
This latest move has succeeded in escalating tensions between the two central African neighbours.
The Congolese army had released a statement, adding that the attackers had pulled back to Rwanda.
The statement read:
“The resulting clashes allowed the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to fight off the Rwandan terrorists who execute this intolerable provocation.”
But, Rwanda’s army had taken to X (Formerly Twitter) to refute the allegations, saying that the accusations could easily be an excuse for a planned attack on Rwandan territory.
Recall that the two countries have been involved in a conflict since 2022, over the resurgence of a M23 rebel group (a militia active in eastern Congo). The Kinshasa government had accused Rwanda of backing the insurgents but Rwanda has consistently denied this, accusing DR Congo of supplying and collaborating with another rebel group, the Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).
This conflict had stemmed from the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.
The M23 group is reportedly led by the Tutsi tribe while the FDLR is composed of the Hutus.
