DRC: Fighting Erupts, Soldier Abducted at Volatile Border

By staff Writer

Heavy fighting erupted again between Congolese soldiers and Rwandan troops on their volatile border early Wednesday June 11, Congolese military and  officials said, further straining relations between the warring neighbors.

Colonel Ephrem Ramazani, Congolese regional commander, said there had been “heavy weapon fire from both sides” as clashes erupted after several hours of calm.

Gunfight broke out after Rwandan troops crossed the border into the restive province of North Kivu kidnapping a Congolese army corporal, according to a local army spokesman.

Mr. Lambert Mende said the fighting took place at Buhumba in North Kivu province as the troops had used “mortars and even rockets launchers” in the fighting around 2:00 pm (1200 GMT).

Clashes resumed when the Congolese learnt the officer had been killed.

The neighbors have had a shaky relationship since 1994 genocide when those accused of involvement in the killings of an estimated 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus set up a militia in eastern DRC.

Rwanda has been repeatedly accused by the United Nations and Kinshasa of backing the M23 rebels in the strife-torn Democratic Republic of Congo.

Kigali last year accused the Congolese army of firing rockets and mortar shells on its territory and massed troops along its border in response, sparking fears the decades-long conflict between the two nations could reignite.

But since the defeat in November 2013 of a Kigali-backed rebellion led by the M23 group, the border has remained relatively calm.

Now the fresh violence could undermine international efforts to bring stability to Congo’s mineral-rich east after years of bloody conflict.

Last year, the Great Lakes regional body set up the Joint Verification Mechanism (JVM), a multinational team of military officers — to defuse the M23 crisis.

"There is now fighting. There are also talks - we need really to know what is happening with them," Mende said.

Sources at the JVM said a monitoring mission sent to assess the fighting at Rwanda’s request was forced to turn back to Goma “due to tension in the area” and would remain there until the situation had calmed down.

The Rwandan authorities have yet to comment on the violence.