The Democratic Republic of the Congo has accused Rwanda of carrying out a drone attack that damaged a civilian aircraft at the airport in the eastern city of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province.
“On the night of Friday to Saturday, at 2 Oclock in the morning local time, there was a drone attack by the Rwandan army,” said Lieutenant-Colonel Guillaume Ndjike Kaito, army spokesperson for North Kivu province.
Fighting has flared in recent days around the town of Sake, 20km (12 miles) from Goma, between M23 rebels – which Kinshasa says are backed by Kigali – and Congolese government forces.
Lt. Col. Ndjike said the drones “targeted aircraft of DRC armed forces”. However, army aircraft “were not hit”, but “a civilian aircraft was hit and damaged”.
“It obviously came from the Rwandan territory, violating the territorial integrity of the Democratic Republic of the Congo,” he added in a video broadcast by the governorate.
The Rwandan government did not immediately respond to the allegations.
The DRC government has consistently accused Rwanda for supporting armed elements in its mineral-rich region and in particular the M23 rebels who have stepped up their offensive in the last few months.
The rebels have conquered vast swaths of North Kivu in the last two years.
Dozens of soldiers and civilians have reportedly been killed or wounded in the fighting over the last 10 days.
UN Security Council voiced concern this week at “escalating violence” in eastern DRC, and condemned the M23 offensive near Goma.