Congo-Kinshasa: DR Congo Fighter Jet Violates Rwanda Airspace for Third Time, Shot At

© RFI/Léa-Lisa Westerhoff
Soldiers on patrol in Virunga Park (file photo).
24 January 2023
The New Times (Kigali)
By Edwin Musoni

25 fighter jet from DR Congo on Tuesday, January 24, violated Rwanda's airspace - the third time such an incident occurred in three months - forcing Rwanda to take "defensive measures", Kigali said.

"Today at 17h03, a Sukhoi-25 from DR Congo violated Rwanda airspace for the third time," a government statement released on Tuesday evening reads in part.

"Defensive measures were taken."

It adds: "Rwanda asks DR Congo to stop this aggression."

The brief statement came as videos and photos emerged on social media showing a Sukhoi-25 being shot at as it flew low and subsequently landed at Goma airport near the border while still on fire.

The fire was eventually extinguished but not without inflicting visible damage on the Soviet Union-made aircraft.

The first of such incidents occurred on November 7, 2022, when a Sukhoi-25 warplane violated Rwanda's airspace, briefly touching down at Rubavu airport in Western Province.

At the time, Congolese authorities acknowledged the violation.

A second incident happened on December 28 when a jet of the same type again violated Rwanda's airspace.

Read the original article on New Times.

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