NEWS- The Democratic Republic of the Congo has accused Rwanda of carrying out a drone attack that damaged a civilian aircraft at the Airport in the Eastern City of Goma, the capital of North Kivu Province.
The Congolese Army spokesperson for North Kivu Province Lt Col Guillaume Ndjike Kaito, told journalists that there was a drone attack by the Rwanda at the Goma Airport.
Fighting has flared in recent days around the town of Sake, which is 20 km miles from Goma, between M23 rebels which Kinshasa says are backed by Kigali and Congolese government forces.
Lt Col Ndjike said the drones targeted aircraft of Democratic Republic of Congo armed forces, however, army aircraft were not hit, but a civilian aircraft was hit and damaged saying that it obviously came from the Rwandan territory, violating the territorial integrity of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
However, the Rwandan government did not immediately respond to the allegations, and now it remains unclear if they are responsible for the attack.
The Democratic Republic of Congo government has consistently accused Rwanda for supporting armed elements in its mineral-rich region and in particular the M23 rebels who have stepped up their offensive in the last few months.
The rebels have conquered vast swaths of territory of North Kivu in the last two years and dozens of soldiers and civilians have reportedly been killed or wounded in the fighting over the last 10 days.
UN Security Council voiced concern this week at what they termed as escalating violence in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and condemned the M23 offensive which now in the prencists of Goma City.
Additional Reporting by Associated Press.
