The 2012 Congolese–Rwandan border clash was a minor skirmish that occurred along the two countries' border that resulted in the deaths of three soldiers.

Incident

DRC claim

According to Congolese authorities the incident began 13 km (8 miles) north of

Goma Goma is a city in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the North Kivu, North Kivu Province; it is located on the northern shore of Lake Kivu and shares borders with the Bukumu Chiefdo ...

, when the

Rwanda Defence Force The Rwandan Defence Force (RDF, , , ) is the military of Rwanda. Prior to 1994, Rwanda's military was officially known as the Rwandan Armed Forces (FAR), but following the Rwandan Civil War and the Rwandan genocide, the Rwandan Patriotic Front ( ...

(RDF) had targeted a group of

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

(DRC) soldiers when they refused to stop after being spotted on Rwandan territory, having crossed the frontier to buy beer. Rwandan troops then opened fire killing one DRC soldier, after that Congolese soldiers returned fire and killed an RDF soldier.

Rwandan claim

According to Rwandan authorities, at about 12pm local time, a contingent of between 70 and 100 DRC soldiers crossed the border illegally to carry out a reconnaissance mission, about 400 meters into Rwandan territory. The local population then called RDF deployment in the area and informed them of Congolese soldiers presence in their village. The DRC troops opened fire first and engaged in a hostile fire-fight. During the shoot-out one DRC soldier was shot dead, during the exchange of fire with RDF who acted solely in self-defense. The intruders were then pushed back towards the Congolese border, leaving the bodies of two DRC soldiers behind. One of the dead soldiers was identified as Corporal Mbanza Numba Bisogolo, who was found with documents which indicated they were on a reconnaissance mission. The soldiers were armed with assault rifles, more than 200 rounds of ammunition, binoculars, communication equipment etc. Rwandan Defense Forces claimed only one of their soldiers was wounded during the incident. Following the shoot-out which Rwanda denounced the incident as an "act of provocation", allowed journalists and military observers to the scene of the shooting, in Busura, near Rubava in the country's west. There an AFP correspondent reported to have seen a Congolese soldier's body at the site.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2012 Congolese-Rwandan border clash Military history of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Military history of Rwanda Democratic Republic of the Congo–Rwanda border 2012 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo 2012 in Rwanda Democratic Republic of the Congo–Rwanda military relations Border incidents November 2012 in Africa