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.

Tagged:
Copyright © 2023 The New Times. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

AllAfrica publishes around 600 reports a day from more than 100 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.