MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th July, 2023) The armed forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo said on Thursday they repelled a border violation by the army of neighboring Rwanda.
"The armed forces of the DRC (FARDC) informs the national and international community that the Rwanda defense force ... has crossed the Congolese border on Thursday, July 27, at 9 a.m. (local time, 07:00 GMT) to continue attempts to destabilize and deliberately violate the territorial integrity of our country," the DRC armed forces said in a communique published on social media.
In response to the "intervention," the FARDC units attacked the enemy and managed to force the "Rwandan terrorists" out of the country's territory, the armed forces added.
In July 2022, a DRC-Rwanda summit took place in Angola after the intensification of the activities of the M23 rebel movement, which is fighting for the interests of the ethnic Tutsi minority, in the eastern DRC. The DRC accused Rwanda of supporting the rebels, while Rwanda denied any connections with the movement.
Both countries repeatedly accused each other of shelling each other's border territories. At the summit, DRC President Felix-Antoine Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, agreed to de-escalate relations between the countries. The roadmap adopted by the two leaders called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of M23 militants from their positions in the DRC. However, the M23 militants said that they did not consider themselves obligated by the provisions of the roadmap.
