A Congolese jet aircraft, Soviet Union-made Sukhoi-25, was shot at while flying at a low altitude between the towns of Goma in DR Congo and Gisenyi in Rwanda, according to local reports.
DR Congo's information ministry strongly condemned “the attack on its fighter plane by the Rwandan army in Congolese airspace and does not intend to let it go”.
The ministry said that the fighter aircraft was attacked as it began to land on the runway at Goma International Airport.
“The government considers this umpteenth attack by Rwanda as a deliberate action of aggression that is equivalent to an act of war,” the ministry noted.
It emphasized that “the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo reserves the legitimate right to defend its national territory and will not let it go.”
Rwanda said that its forces had fired at the Sukhoi-25 jet after it violated Rwandan airspace in Rubavu, “prompting the government to take defensive measures”.
In 2022, heavy tensions broke out between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, which have led to several alleged attacks by Congolese and Rwandan forces on each other's territory.
Rwandan forces have been caught crossing into the DRC multiple times, usually fighting alongside Congolese rebels.
The crisis is related to an ongoing offensive beginning in March 2022 by the March 23 Movement (M23), which the Congo and the United Nations accuse Rwanda of not only supporting but actively fighting for. (ILKHA)
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