DR Congo accuses Rwanda of jamming air space and putting flights at risk

The Democratic Republic of Congo has accused the Rwandan army of jamming satellite navigation systems affecting civilian flights in the conflict-hit east of the country.

It said Rwanda, which borders DR Congo, was interfering with aircraft Global Positioning System (GPS) signals through “jamming” and “spoofing” – a type of cyber-crime that involves creating a false identity or impersonation.

This posed a “significant risk” to both commercial and humanitarian flights bringing in essential aid for victims of conflict, the government added in a statement.

Rwanda has not yet responded to the allegations.

A UN report released earlier this month accused Rwanda of having up to 4,000 troops in DR Congo to help the M23 rebel group in its fight against government government forces.

Rwanda did not deny the allegation and said the DR Congo government lacked the political will to resolve the crisis in its mineral-rich east.

The M23 rebels have captured much territory in the east, especially in North Kivu province, and have been setting up a parallel administration.

The group says it is fighting for the rights of the Tutsi minority – the same ethnic group to which Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame belongs.

The conflict has forced hundreds of thousands of families to flee their homes, with numerous peace initiatives – and the deployment of UN and regional troops – failing to end the fighting.

In a statement on X, DR Congo’s government said it had carried out a “technical investigation” that confirmed that the jamming was carried out by the Rwandan army and the M23 rebels in “contempt” of international law.

It did not indicate the scale of the impact on air traffic, but said that GPS signals over parts of North Kivu, especially the provincial capital Goma, had been affected.

Neighbouring areas in the east such as Beni and Butembo had also been affected, it said.

The government had filed a complaint with the UN’s International Civil Aviation Organization, asking it to impose “appropriate sanctions” on Rwanda, the statement added.