DR Congo military accused of shelling civilians in Rwanda

The allegations follow claims by DR Congo officials of Rwandan forces supporting armed groups in the DRC.

Rwanda’s military has accused forces of the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo of wounding several civilians in cross-border shelling and asked regional monitors to investigate.

Rwanda Defence Force spokesman Col Ronald Rwivanga said authorities are “engaging” their DRC counterparts over the shelling that Rwanda says struck areas in Musanze district on Monday morning.

Rwanda has asked that the Expanded Joint Verification Mechanism – a group of military experts from the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) to urgently investigate.

The ICGLR, which comprises nineteen countries across south, east and central Africa, was formed in 2008 as a result of continuing conflicts in eastern DRC.

Rwanda has described allegations of supporting rebels in the DRC as baseless.

Fighting reportedly continues between DRC forces and an armed group called M23.