The Democratic Republic of Congo has handed over two Rwandan
soldiers who had been arrested for trespassing into Congolese territory.
The
two soldiers, a lieutenant and a private, had been arrested on Sunday
by Congolese soldiers deployed along the common border, who said the
Rwandans had crossed 10 metres into DRC.
They were
handed over to the Extended Joint Verification Mechanism, a security
organisation of the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region
(ICGLR), and transferred to the Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF) in Rubavu.
Lt-Col Innocent Munyengango, Rwanda Military Spokesperson, said that the two accidentally crossed the border while on patrol.
“This
was caused by the lack of clear border demarcation between Rwanda and
DRC. It is a regrettable but common cross-border occurrence. On several
occasions, we have returned FARDC soldiers who accidentally crossed to
our side,” he said.
“The RDF and FARDC, together with the Great Lakes Region Expanded Joint Verification Mechanism, handled the incident amicably.”
In February, Rwanda and DRC accused each other of territorial
violation after fighting between their two armies some 15km from common
border.
At least three Congolese soldiers were killed in the fighting, for which RDF accused the Congolese soldiers.
The Expanded Joint Verification Mechanism is still investigating the incident.
The
two neighbours share a poorly demarcated northern borderline, which has
been a source of skirmishes over the past two decades.
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