The Republic of Democratic of Congo (DRC) has confirmed that one of its soldiers crossed into Rwanda on Saturday. The armed soldier who crossed the Rwanda-DR Congo border at Petite Barrière was shot and killed by Rwanda Defence Forces who were on patrol after he had shot and injured a police officer at the border. The incident took place following another Congolese soldier who was also killed in June after he shot at civilians and border security agents. Major General Mpezo Mbele Bruno, the commander of the 34th military region confirmed the identity of the soldier to the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) commander and requested for repatriation of the body. “I have the honor to greet you and to inform you that on the night of November 18/19, one of the FARDC soldiers crossed the border and found himself on Rwandan territory where he was shot..,” the statement reads in part. The body of the Congolese soldier was taken to Gisenyi Hospital on Saturday afternoon after the regional Expanded Joint Verification Mechanism (EJVM) alongside Rwanda security agencies had reached the scene.
