Rwanda has accused neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo of violating its airspace by flying a fighter jet over its territory for the third time.
In a statement tweeted this Tuesday 24 january, Kigali said : “Today at 5:03 pm, a Sukhoi-25 from the DR Congo violated Rwanda airspace for the third time.”
“Defensive measures were taken. Rwanda asks the DRC to stop this aggression”, the statement said. This incident continues to raise tensions between these two countries.
In November last year, DRC apologised after one of its fighter jets – which was unarmed – briefly flew over Rwanda. It said the overflight was an accident and that the plane had been on a reconnaissance mission. DRC has yet to respond to today’s alleged overflight.
Relations between Rwanda and the DRC are as conflictual as they are historic, mired for nearly 30 years in the aftermath of the 1994 genocide. The resurgence of the M23 in the east of the DRC since the end of 2021 has rekindled tension between the two neighbours.
Kinshasa accuses its neighbor of supporting the M23 (“March 23 Movement”). Kigali denies these accusations.
Rwanda has repeatedly accused the DRC of colluding with the FDLR (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda), a Rwandan Hutu rebel movement, some of whom were involved in the 1994 Tutsi genocide in Rwanda. (End)