Kinshasa denied Kigali’s statement calling the incident “an intentional act of aggression leading to an act of war”.
Rwandan forces fired on a fighter jet from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that they say violated its airspace, prompting the Congolese government to accuse it of being an act of war.
“A Sukhoi-25 fighter jet of the Democratic Republic of Congo has breached Rwanda’s airspace for the third time,” over the Rubavu district, near the North Kivu capital Goma, Rwandan government spokesman Yolande Makolo said in a statement. a statement on Tuesday.
“Defensive measures have been taken,” she said, adding, “Rwanda asks the DRC to stop this aggression.”
In December, Rwanda said another DRC fighter jet briefly violated its airspace.
An unarmed Congolese fighter jet also made a quick landing at a Rwandan airport in November while on a reconnaissance mission near the border, in what the DRC said was an accident.
The DRC denied Rwanda’s allegation that the plane was in Rwandan airspace – the latest dispute between two nations whose relationship has been strained by insurgency violence.
Kinshasa said in a statement: “Rwandan shots were aimed at a Congolese aircraft flying over Congolese territory, and confirmed that the plane landed in Goma without significant damage.
It described Rwanda’s move as an “intentional act of aggression equivalent to an act of war” aimed at undermining a peace agreement to end an attack by the M23 rebel group.
A video widely shared on Congolese social media shows a bullet hitting a military plane in the air, before exploding near the plane that was continuing to fly. Video cannot be verified immediately.
The DRC, UN experts and Western powers have accused Rwanda of backing the M23, which seized several towns and villages in the DRC in fresh fighting last year. Rwanda has denied any involvement.
Regional leaders brokered an agreement in November whereby the Tutsi-led group intends to withdraw from positions recently taken before 15 January as part of an effort to end the fighting that had to move at least 450,000 people.
Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi said last week that the rebels had not withdrawn yet from those areas.
Meanwhile, fresh fighting broke out on Tuesday morning between Congolese government forces and M23 rebels in Masisi and Rutshuru near the town of Kitshanga, about 70 kilometers from Goma.
