[PHOTOS]: Gunmen attack Rwanda from DR Congo, one killed

An armed man wearing DR Congo military uniform was killed on Wednesday night on the Rwandan territory following an attack on a Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF) base at Nyiramugweri hill in Bugeshi Sector, Rubavu District. The base is located at the foot of Kalisimbi volcanic mountain. Speaking to reporters who visited the scene Thursday, Capt Edward Kalisa, an RDF commander in the area, said a group of between 16 and 20 soldiers, fully armed and dressed in fatigues of the DR Congo armed forces, attacked their base a few minutes after midnight. He said that on crossing into the Rwandan territory, the attackers started shooting at the RDF soldiers, which prompted the latter to retaliate with an ensuing fire exchange lasting under 30 minutes. One of the attackers died, he said. A team from the Expanded Joint Verification Mechanism was on scene Thursday to investigate the incident. (courtesy) The deceased soldier, whose body was still at the scene when the reporters on Thursday, was found with no identification, but his uniform suggested he was a sergeant. The scene was still littered with live ammunition presumably left behind by the attackers. Kalisa said that no RDF soldier was killed or injured in the incident, adding that the Congolese soldier who died had initially been wounded in the fire exchange and his colleagues tried to flee with him, but he later succumbed to his wounds, prompting them to abandon his body. The rest crossed back into the Congo, he said. The scene of incident was on Thursday visited by a team from the region’s Expanded Joint Verification Mechanism (EJVM), a team of military observers set up under a regional framework to monitor security incidents along the DR Congo’s eastern border. The EJVM delegation to the scene was led by Col Omari Majani from Tanzania, and it is expected to investigate the incident before compiling a report. An officer from the Expanded Joint Verification Mechanism inspects ammunition left behind by the attackers on Wednesday night. (Courtesy) Priscilla Nyirahungu, an area resident, said she heard bullets at around midnight and stayed inside the house with her family. “It was scary but it did not take long, and after the incident we were visited by RDF soldiers, who reassured us of our safety,” she said. “In the morning they returned and reiterated their commitment to ensure we were safe,” she said. There were also reports that the attackers could be part of the DR Congo-based FDLR militia, comprising of elements blamed for the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, which claimed at least a million lives. But Capt Kalisa declined to comment on this saying they would not speculate. “We leave that to the EJVM team, they are the ones to substantiate this or not.” The FDLR has previously launched incursions into Rwanda. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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[PHOTOS]: Gunmen attack Rwanda from DR Congo, one killed