The Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde, has refused to appear with the President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, at the Francophonie Summit that begins this Saturday on the Tunisian island of Djerba in protest against «Rwandan aggression» at the height of bilateral tension between the two countries.
The Congolese government accuses Rwanda of supporting the rebel group March 23 Movement (M23) during the bloody clashes that have flared up in recent weeks in the Congolese province of North Kivu, something that Kigali has strongly denied.
In a subsequent communiqué, the Congolese Prime Minister’s office denounced «the unjust war in the Kivu region» and assured that his country had only agreed to participate in this summit «to make its voice heard and to denounce yet another Rwandan aggression under the protection of the M23 terrorists who are causing serious damage, particularly on the humanitarian level».
Just this Saturday, the Rwandan army reported the death of an alleged Congolese soldier who crossed the border between the two countries and opened fire on a watchtower before being shot dead by Rwandan forces.
According to the Rwandan military communiqué, the incident took place at 01.00 this morning local time when an «unidentified, but possibly a member of the Congolese Armed Forces» crossed the border at the village of Ruvabu and began firing at a Rwandan Army watchtower.
«A military patrol shot him dead before he caused any damage,» the army added.
The Rwandan Army has placed the investigation in the hands of the Joint Expanded Verification Mechanism (JVCM), composed of military experts from member states of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), and «ensures that the situation on the border remains calm.»
