Kigali – Rwanda said on Monday several civilians were injured in cross-border shelling by troops from the Democratic Republic of Congo and called for an “urgent investigation” into the incident.
Rocket shells landed in the northern Musanze district, which borders the DRC, “injuring several civilians and damaging property”, the Rwandan army said in a statement.
The shelling occurred on Monday morning and lasted 21 minutes, it said, without giving further details.
“The situation in the area is normal and security assured,” Rwandan military spokesperson Colonel Ronald Rwivanga said.
“Those injured are receiving treatment and officials are assessing the extent of the damage.”
The East African country said it had asked the Expanded Joint Verification Mechanism (EJVM) – a regional team of military observers established to monitor security incidents on the volatile border – to conduct an immediate probe.
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“Rwandan authorities are also engaging DRC counterparts over the incident,” Colonel Rwivanga said.
There was no immediate response to the allegations from the Congolese army.
The two neighbours have had a fractious relationship since the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
Some of those accused of involvement in the killings of an estimated 800 000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus in Rwanda set up militias in eastern DRC.
Rwanda has been accused of backing the M23, a mainly ethnic Tutsi rebel group that emerged during that period.
The rebels resumed fighting earlier this year, accusing the government of having failed to respect a 2009 agreement under which their fighters were to be incorporated into the army.
Ties between the neighbours improved with the 2019 arrival in power of DRC President Felix Tshisekedi, who has met his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame several times.
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Source: AFP
Picture: Pixabay
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