KIGALI, Rwanda
Rwanda will retaliate against
any further attacks launched from the Democratic Republic of Congo, the East
African nation's foreign minister warned Tuesday, as tensions between the two
neighbours soar.
A diplomatic feud between
Kigali and Kinshasa has escalated in recent days as both sides trade
accusations of aiding armed militias in the volatile eastern DRC region which
borders Rwanda.
Rwanda last week accused the
Congolese armed forces of firing rockets into its territory, and said two of
its soldiers had been kidnapped on patrol by the Democratic Forces for the
Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a rebel group active in eastern DRC.
The Congolese army in turn
said Sunday that the two soldiers had trespassed on its soil and had been taken
into custody.
At a press conference in
Kigali on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Vincent Biruta warned: "If the attacks
continue, Rwanda will have a right to respond and we have the capacity to
respond."
"We do not want war, we
want peace," he said, but added: "As the government we have a duty to
protect the lives of Rwandans."
"Should we let everyone
to just shoot us in Rwanda and just keep quiet?"
On Saturday, Congolese authorities suspended Rwanda's national carrier RwandAir over
Kigali's alleged support for the M23 rebel group, prompting the airline to cancel all flights to the DRC.
Rwanda has meanwhile accused
the DRC government of working closely with the FDLR.
Relations between the two
countries have been strained since the mass arrival in the eastern DRC of
Rwandan Hutus accused of slaughtering Tutsis during the 1994 Rwanda Genocide
against the Tutsi.
Kinshasa has regularly accused
Rwanda of carrying out incursions into its territory, and of backing armed
groups there. Kigali has denied involvement.
Relations began to thaw after
DRC President Felix Tshisekedi took office in 2019 but recent fighting between
Congolese forces and M23 -- a primarily Congolese Tutsi group -- has reignited
tensions.
On Monday, hundreds staged an
anti-Rwanda protest in the DRC capital Kinshasa, with demonstrators calling for
the expulsion of the Rwandan ambassador.
The United Nations said last
week that the fresh clashes had displaced 72,000 people, and warned that those
on the run faced constant violence and the looting of their homes.
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