Congolese army destroys plane rebels claim was carrying aid
The Congolese government says it targeted an aircraft which rebels claim was delivering food aid before it was blown up in the district of Minembwe, close to the country’s borders with Rwanda and Burundi.
It is the latest violent incident in the region since a ceasefire deal was signed in Washington last Friday.
The army claims it tracked the plane using radar, found it had entered Congolese airspace without legal permission and bore no identification number – giving the force no choice but to take “appropriate measures”.
But rebels allied to the M23 group, which has seized large parts of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo this year, dispute this.
A statement released on behalf of the Twerwaneho group, which controls Minembwe, said the plane was bombed in an act of “barbarity” that destroyed “food rations” and “essential supplies including medicines” intended for village residents.
The statement published by the wider rebel umbrella Congo River Alliance, which includes both the Twerwaneho and M23, threatened that the militia would hit back at the army in so-called “necessary measures” to keep locals safe.
The BBC has not been able to independently verify what cargo was on board the plane, nor where it had come from.
Yet daytime images circulating online, whose topography and details match other footage from the scene, appear to show that most of the wreckage was consumed by the fire.
Burundi defence forces and the Congolese army have blocked road access to rebel-held Minembwe, leaving it reliant on air access for all kinds of supplies.
Neither side has said that the plane originated in Rwanda. But all Rwandan civilian and military aircraft have been banned in DR Congo since February over accusations that Rwanda is backing the M23. Despite widespread evidence, Rwanda denies giving financial or military support to the M23 or its allies. —BBC
