The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has once again, accused Rwandan soldiers and artillery of lending support to the M23 rebel group who carried out another devastating attack on Sunday in the eastern part of the DRC which saw thousands of residents displaced and fleeing the region.
Kinshasha also accused Rwanda of seeking to occupy the Congolese border town of Bunagana by supporting the rebels’ attacks.
The UN Humanitarian Agency (OCHA), in a statement on Monday, said the violence pushed over 25,000 people to flee the area, with thousands escaping to neighbouring Uganda.
Though Rwanda has denied the accusation of backing the rebel group, the DRC’s allegations are part of an escalating dispute between the East African neighbours which has revived old animosities between them which was stoked by the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
The office of the governor of North Kivu province also said Congolese forces had repelled early-morning attacks by M23, backed by Rwandan forces, near Bunagana and elsewhere.
“The goal pursued by Rwanda is to occupy Bunagana in order not only to asphyxiate the city of Goma but also to put pressure on the Congolese government,” the governor’s office said in a statement.
The Rwandan government has however, debunked the accusations and denies playing any role in M23’s recent attacks.
But it also echoed M23 charges that Congo is also cooperating with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), an armed group run by ethnic Hutus who fled Rwanda after taking part in the 1994 genocide.
This is not the first time the DRC has accused Rwanda of supporting the M23 militants. On Thursday last week, it accused Rwanda of sending 500 commandos in disguise into eastern Congo.
The following day, the two countries accused each other of firing rockets across their shared border with the Congolese army sailying one strike killed two Congolese children.