AA / Kinshasa / Pascal Mulegwa
The Congolese armed forces accused Rwanda of having fired “a dozen bombs” on Friday using a “long-range cannon” on Congolese territory and caused the death of two children in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
“These bombs fired more than 22 kilometers from Rwandan territory exploded in Biruma and Kabaya, localities located in Rutshuru territory, North Kivu province,” the Congolese army said in a statement.
Falling on a secondary school, they killed two “male” children and injured another, according to the army, which affirms that in addition to the human toll, “the Rwandan army bombarded an entire school”.
These shots, according to the same source, were as a “punishment” to the population who had helped to capture two Rwandan soldiers on Congolese territory at the end of May. Kigali, for its part, accused the Congolese army of having fired two rockets into eastern Rwanda, without causing any casualties.
Confirming the death of two children, the Kivu security barometer, a research project led by the Congo Study Group (GEC) and the American human rights NGO, Human Rights Watch (HRW), pointed singled out the M23 rebels. Kinshasa has been accusing Rwanda for several weeks of supporting the M23 militarily.
Kigali, for its part, claims that the Congolese army is in collusion with the rebels of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), entrenched in eastern Congo since 1994 following the genocide in Rwanda.
The international community called on the two capitals to resolve the dispute through dialogue. The African Union has appointed the Angolan President, João Lourenço, as mediator in this diplomatic crisis.
The two Rwandan soldiers recently captured by the DRC were released on Wednesday, following the diplomatic efforts of President Lourenço.
João Lourenço also obtained from the Rwandan President, Paul Kagame, the guarantee of the release of the Congolese politician Patrick Bala, detained in Rwanda, for whom the Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi intervened, according to the Angolan press.
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