Rwandan President, Paul Kagame has expressed his displeasure over a claim by his South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa, who said 13 soldiers from his country were killed by the Rwanda Defence Army (RDF) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

New Telegraph recalls that the recent conflict in the DRC has led to the deaths and displacement of many people after the M23 rebels, thought to be backed by Rwanda, seized the city of Goma.

Following the crisis, President Ramaphosa of South Africa in a post on his X page alleged that M23 and the RDF whom he called a “Militia”, attacked the armed forces of the DRC and peacekeepers in the Central African country, causing the death of the soldiers.

“South Africa’s military presence in the eastern DRC is not a declaration of war against any country or state.

“The territorial integrity of the DRC must be respected in accordance with the United Nations Charter on the respect of sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of other states,” he said.

READ ALSO:

The rebel group has, however, accused the Congo government of not honouring past peace agreements.

Responding to Ramaphosa, the Rwandan leader in a post on X denied the allegation, saying the South African president’s claims are lies.

“What has been said about these conversations in the media by South African officials and President Ramaphosa himself contains a lot of distortion, deliberate attacks, and even lies.

“President Ramaphosa has never given a ‘warning’ of any kind unless it was delivered in his local language which I do not understand,” he stated.

The Rwandan president said South Africa is welcome to contribute to peaceful solutions in the region, but it is in no position to take on the role of a peacemaker or mediator.