KIGALI, Rwanda
The Congolese military on Tuesday said it intercepted an unregistered aircraft that violated its airspace in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Military spokesman Sylvain Ekenge said in a statement that the aircraft was heading towards a conflict zone in Congo’s South Kivu province on Monday without prior overflight authorization.
After notifying authorities, the army took “appropriate measures to guarantee the security of our airspace and preserve the integrity of our territory,” it added.
On Monday evening, the M23 rebels at the heart of the conflict in eastern Congo accused Kinshasa of bombing a civilian plane carrying humanitarian aid to Minembwe, South Kivu.
Lawrence Kanyuka, the rebel group’s spokesperson, said in a statement that the bombing had “extended beyond human casualties,” destroying essential supplies, including medicines and food rations destined for the disaster-stricken population.
The group accused the government of repeatedly violating the ceasefire.
Kinshasa accuses Kigali of backing M23 rebels since their resurgence in November 2021, a charge Rwanda consistently denies.
The rebel group now controls significant territory in eastern Congo, including the provincial capitals of Goma and Bukavu that it seized early this year.
The aircraft incident came days after Congo and Rwanda signed a peace agreement on June 27 in Washington, aimed at ending the conflict that has been raging in the eastern part of the country for decades.
The deal provides for a cessation of hostilities between the armies of the two neighboring countries.
A conglomerate of various rebel groups in eastern Congo that includes M23 rebels (AFC/M23) said on Monday that the US-brokered peace deal is “a step, albeit limited, but useful.”
The same day, local media reported violent clashes in the territory of Rutshuru, in North Kivu province, between the AFC/M23 rebels and pro-government militia known as Wazalendo.
Clashes between M23 and government forces in eastern Congo displaced at least 500,000 and killed more than 3,000 by late February, according to the Africa Center for Strategic Studies.
