After accusing Congo of firing missiles across its border earlier this month, Rwanda’s foreign minister stated Tuesday that it will retaliate against any further attacks by the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Congo summoned Rwanda’s ambassador to protest against Kigali’s support of M23 rebels waging a military offensive along its eastern borderlands. RwandAir flights to Congo were suspended over the weekend.
Rwanda has denied the claims, accusing Congo’s army of fighting alongside the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda [FDLR]), an armed group formed by ethnic Hutus fleeing Rwanda following the 1994 genocide.
“If there are more attacks, we won’t sit by and watch… Rwanda will have to respond to safeguard the security of the country, its citizens and it has the means to do so,” Vincent Biruta, Foreign Minister, told reporters.
These clashes could cause tensions between the countries that had been improving since Felix Tshisekedi, Congolese President, came to power three year ago.
The 1994 Rwanda genocide resulted in the long-lasting fallout of the M23 insurgency.
