Rwanda who accuses neighbouring DR Congo of violating its airspace for the third time, targeted and hit a fighter jet it claims was flying over its territory.The authorities in Kigali took to Twitter to say that at 5:03 pm on Tuesday, a Sukhoi-25 from the DR Congo violated Rwandan airspace for the third time and ”defensive measures were taken”.

It is not clear what happened to the aircraft and its crew after it was hit by a Rwandan missile.

Rwanda has warned Kinshasa against what it calls open acts of aggression as tension continues to rise between the two neighbours over the escalating conflict in the east of DR Congo.

Kinshasa has repeatedly accused Kigali of supporting M23 rebels in their advance on cities in the east of the country, an allegation Rwanda has vehemently denies. 

Rwanda also claims DR Congo has been colluding with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a Hutu-dominated rebel movement, believed to have taken part in the 1994 genocide. 

Last November, DR Congo had issued an apology after one of its fighter jets which was unarmed, ”strayed into Rwanda”. 

It said the overflight was an accident and that the plane had been on a reconnaissance mission.

A similar incident involving another Congolese military aircraft occurred several days later, prompting further protestations from Kigali.  

The authorities in Kinshasa have not commented on Kigali’s claim of shooting at a foreign fighter jet that allegedly strayed into its territory.

Relations between Kigali and Kinshasa have gone from bad to worse following the resurgence of the M23 rebel movement in eastern DR Congo.