The Democratic Republic of Congo has accused Rwanda of carrying out a drone attack that damaged a civilian aircraft at the airport in the strategic city of Goma, east of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province.
Fighting has intensified in recent days between Kinshasa-backed M23 rebels from Kigali and Congolese government forces around the town of Sake, 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Goma.
“From Friday to Saturday night, at 2 a.m. local time, there was a drone attack by the Rwandan military,” said Lieutenant Colonel Guillaume Njike Kite, military spokesperson for North Kivu province.
“It clearly came from Rwandan territory and violates the territorial integrity of the Democratic Republic of the Congo,” it added in a video broadcast by the department.
The drone “targeted an aircraft belonging to the Democratic Republic of Congo's military.” However, he said that while the military aircraft “was not attacked,” “the civilian aircraft was attacked and damaged.”
The Rwandan government did not immediately respond to the allegations.
AFP correspondents and residents of Goma reported hearing two loud explosions before and after the explosion. A security source told AFP on Saturday of “two bombs” and said experts were at the scene to identify where shots were fired.
Airport officials said domestic and international traffic was normal despite reports of a bomb attack.
“Escalating violence”
Speaking to Al Jazeera from Goma on Saturday, Alain Ouaikani said if the drone attack targeted military aircraft, as the military announced, the M23 rebels were more sophisticated than the Congolese government had anticipated. He said that this shows that it is possible.
The DRC, the United Nations and Western countries allege that Rwanda is supporting the rebels in order to control its vast mineral wealth, a claim Kigali denies.
Rebels have conquered large swathes of North Kivu province over the past two years.
The Rwandan military is using sophisticated weapons, including surface-to-air missiles, to support the M23, according to a classified United Nations document obtained by AFP earlier this week.
The report said that last Wednesday, “what appears to be a mobile surface-to-air missile from the Rwandan Defense Forces” was fired at a United Nations observation drone, but it did not hit.
The United Nations Security Council this week expressed concern about the “escalation of violence” in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and condemned the M23 attack near Goma.
Dozens of soldiers and civilians have reportedly been killed or injured in the past 10 days of fighting.
“New ground”
Recent fighting has forced tens of thousands of civilians to flee nearby towns toward Goma. Goma is located between Lake Kivu and the Rwandan border, effectively cutting it off from the country's interior.
“The security situation in the Sake region remains highly unstable, with government forces and their allies for several days dislodging the occupied M23 rebels on several mountains around this strategic city at the Gates of Goma. “We are trying to do that,” Huaikani reported from Goma.
“The government coalition is trying to stop the rebels from advancing in this part of Sake, but since this morning security sources have reported that the rebels are also engaged in close combat with Democratic Republic of Congo forces in the village of Kasuga in Rutsuru territory. They are said to have taken over territory from Warikare,” Huaikani reported.
He said the fighting in this part of the country was important for the rebels as it opened a “new front” in Walikale, which had not previously been affected by years of conflict.
“This is also of great importance as several international companies are based in the area and carry out large-scale mining operations in the area. “Some areas have already been targeted by M23 bombs,” he added.
As multiple diplomatic efforts to quell the violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have failed, the continent's leaders will address the conflict at the 37th African Union Summit this weekend in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa. is expected to be discussed.
