The incident occurred in the evening of Friday 3rd March 2023.

According to a statement released by Rwanda Defence Force (RDF), the a soldier of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) crossed over from his country at around 17h35 on Friday and shot at RDF soldiers manning the common border between Grande Barrière and Petite Barrière in Rubavu District, in Rwanda’s Western Province.

The statement further reads that ’RDF soldiers returned fire, killing the FARDC soldier on the Rwandan side of the border’.

"Several other FARDC soldiers fired at the RDF position resulting in a brief exchange of fire. The situation is now calm," adds the statement.

RDF has revealed that it formally communicated the incident to the Extended Joint Verification Mechanism (EJVM).

The latter is among many similar incidents where DR Congo soldiers have been reported to have violated Rwandan territory.

The reason for storming Rwandan territory remains unknown but the incident happens amidst ongoing tensions between Rwanda and DRC which accused the neighbouring country of supporting M23 rebel group in a fighting with FARDC.

Rwanda has repeatedly denied the allegations and advised DRC to solve internal problems appropriately instead of leaning on blame games.

In November last year, another Congolese soldier was shot dead in Rubavu District as he opened fire on Rwandan soldiers while on patrol.