Another Sukhoi-25 fighter jet from DR Congo violated Rwandan airspace along Lake Kivu in the Western Province of Rwanda on Wednesday at around 12h00, and immediately returned to DR Congo. This is not the first time a fighter jet from DR Congo has violated Rwandan airspace. In November, a fighter jet of the same type from DR Congo violated Rwanda’s airspace and briefly touched down at Rubavu Airport before returning back. Following Wednesday’s incident, Rwandan government issued a statement indicating that, “Rwandan authorities have once again protested to the DR Congo Government against the violations of Rwandan airspace by DR Congo fighter jets.” It adds in part that, “These repeated violations are against the spirit of Luanda and Nairobi peace initiatives. The authorities in the DR Congo seem to be emboldened by consistent coddling by some in the international community who repeatedly heap blame on Rwanda for any and all ills in the DR Congo, while ignoring the transgressions originating from DR Congo. These provocations must stop.” During the November airspace violation, DR Congo government admitted at the time that its fighter jet had violated Rwandan airspace claiming it was a mistake but the Rwandan government described the act as “unacceptable.” Several residents and local authorities in Rubavu District who spoke to The New Times on Wednesday attested to having seen the fighter jet in the skies of Rwanda Under the Nairobi and Luanda initiatives, both Rwanda and DR Congo had agreed on de-escalate tension and Rwanda demanded a halt to acts of provocations from the DR Congo. The incursion by the DRC Sukhoi-25 fighter jet is one of many provocations following DR Congo’s embedding of the genocidal outfit- FDLR- into its national army and cross-border shelling on Rwandan territory with rockets earlier this year killing civilians and destroying properties.
