Heavy fighting has been recorded in the early hours of today, February 16, 2023, between Democratic Republic of Congo soldiers and M23 rebels who are allegedly in the company of Rwandese army offices.
The fighting comes after the two countries traded jabs over a border fracas yesterday.
Rwanda accused the DRC of provocation after forces between the two countries exchanged gunfire yesterday.
But the DRC accused Rwanda of putting out a false statement.
“On Wednesday morning at 4h30, FARDC forces estimated to be about one section (12 to 14 soldiers) entered the No Man’s Land between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) bordering Rusizi District in Western Province, and opened fire at our border post.
“Our security forces responded and FARDC soldiers withdrew. At 0554hrs, FARDC forces visited the scene and cleaned up the area.
There were no casualties on the Rwanda side and the situation is calm. The RDF has requested the Expanded Joint verification Mechanism and the Ad Hog
Verification Mechanism to investigate this act of provocation,” a Rwandan spokesman said.
A Congolese official Théo Ngwabidje Kasi said Rwandan army and RDF issued a press release dated February 15, 2023 in which they alleged that on the night of February 14 to 15, 2023, at 4:30 a.m., approximately 12 to 14 FARDC soldiers entered the area of the border between the D.R. Congo/Bukavu-Ruzizi Il and Rwanda/Rusizi District, Western Province, and allegedly opened fire on their Border Post and that the Rwandan security forces responded.
“These are notoriously false allegations. Indeed, on February 15, 2023, at dawn, an incident occurred at the Ruzizi II border post, in Bukavu, in the Province of South Kivu, following the altercation between elements of the PNC, those of the FARDC and a band of criminals who fled after having tried to operate in the neighborhood near the border. During their flight, there was an exchange of fire between the defense and security forces of the DRC and these criminals,” Kasi said.
“This situation created an alert and the effective intervention of our forces made it possible to control some of the group, who are currently under arrest. It unfortunately followed the death of one and another injured in the ranks of said bandits. I should point out that in no case did the FARDC cross the Neutral Zone, even less open fire in the direction of Rwanda.
Kasi urged the Congolese people not to relent but Rwanda in check to ensure there is no escalation of the conflict.
