The incident took place in the Rubavu Sector, Rubavu District at 7:00 p.m. They were arrested by Rwandan soldiers on patrol.

RDF clarified that the soldiers in custody are Assumani Mupenda, 30, and Cpl Anyasaka Nkoi Lucien, 28. Rwanda’s army explained that the soldier from the FARDC was killed because he attempted to shoot at soldiers on patrol, who returned fire, resulting in his death. On the RDF side, none of its soldiers were killed or injured in the clashes.

The FARDC expressed sadness over the soldier’s death and requested assistance from the Expanded Joint Verification Mechanism (EJVM) from the Great Lakes to evacuate the soldiers and retrieve the deceased soldier’s body.

This is not the first instance of an FARDC soldier illegally entering Rwanda’s territory and attempting to shoot at soldiers. Similar incidents occurred in 2022 and 2023, where the intruders were shot and killed.

The Spokesperson of Congolese Army, Brig Gen Ekenge has confirmed the arrest of these soldiers in Rwanda.