DR Congo army says it shot down Rwandan drone

The Congolese military said Sunday that it shot down a drone belonging to the Rwandan army in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

The incident in South Kivu province marks the latest escalation between the two countries.

The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was shot down in mid-flight in the Point Zero area in the Minembwe Highlands in Fizi territory on Saturday, the army said in a statement.

“This hostile action constitutes a clear violation of national airspace, a clear-cut aggression against the Democratic Republic of Congo, and a new attempt at destabilization in an area under high operational vigilance,” said the statement, which was signed by interim army spokesperson Lt. Colonel Mak Hazukay.

There was no immediate reaction from Rwanda.

The statement said the drone was carrying out an “offensive” mission targeting both Congolese military positions and local civilian populations.

It accused the AFC/M23 rebel group of being involved in hostile actions alongside the Rwandan army in order to undermine recent commitments made at peace talks in Switzerland meant to contribute to a de-escalation of tensions in the east of the country.

The security situation in eastern Congo remained worrying in recent days following intensified fighting between the AFC/M23 rebel group and government forces, according to local sources.

The Congo, the UN and Western nations accuse Rwanda of supporting the M23 rebel group, which Kigali denies.

M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka, in a post Sunday on the US social media company platform X, said “the coalition forces of the Kinshasa regime carried out simultaneous and uninterrupted bombings against the densely populated areas in the Minembwe region” from Saturday evening to Sunday morning.