According to Rwanda’s Ministry of Defense, the Democratic Republic of Congo fired two rockets into the country’s western region on Friday, causing no casualties but scaring the populace along the border. According to the ministry’s statement, this is the third such incident since March.
Tensions between the two central African countries have been rising as Kinshasa accused Rwanda of supporting M23 rebels by sending 500 troops to Eastern DRC last week, which Rwanda denies.
For a decade, the DRC’s national army has been fighting M23 guerrillas in eastern Congo, which are deemed terrorists, and severe skirmishes have occurred since May.
Since the genocide in Rwanda in 1994, Rwanda and the DRC have had strained relations. Kinshasa accused Rwanda of sending troops into Congo to support M23 rebels on a regular basis. The Congolese army claimed to have apprehended two Rwandan troops in the DRC at the end of May. Instead, Kigali alleged that they were kidnapped on the Rwandan side of the border by Congo-based Hutu militants.
Since the end of May, Kigali has been requesting a regional investigation.
