Why DR Congo Troops Killed An Angolan Soldier In Border Incident

A soldier of the FARDC (Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo) takes cover during exchanges of fire with members of the ADF (Allied Democratic Forces) in Opira. Alain Wandimoyi-AFP

An Angolan soldier was killed on Sunday by DR Congo troops after a tense incident and an exchange of gunfire along their border, according to local DR Congo officials.

It was the latest incident between the two armies in the Kasai region along the border, where DR Congo officials complain Angolan forces often violate the frontier.

Kasai province interior minister Deller Kawino told AFP the Angolan soldier had opened fire on Congolese intelligence officers in Kasai in the south of the Democratic Republic of Congo. One of the officers was wounded.

DR Congo troops returned fire and killed him, said Kawino.

Before the shooting, a group of Angolan soldiers had crossed three kilometres (two miles) into DR Congo territory, he added. One started filming with his mobile before DR Congo troops ordered him to stop.

“The Angolan authorities are asking for the body of their soldier who was accidentally killed this morning by our forces,” Kasai governor Dieudonne Pieme told AFP.

“We agree in principle but we asked them to make a report which recognises their soldier was killed on the territory of the DRC.”

Angolan government officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

The DRC and Angola share a border of more than 2,500 km, in addition to the Angolan enclave of Cabinda which sits between the DRC and Congo-Brazzaville.

The DRC regularly denounces incursions of Angolan troops into its territory on the pretext of pursuit of local rebel fighters.

In May, an exchange of fire between the Congolese army and Angolan troops in Kasai left one Angolan man wounded.