Unidentified attackers torched three passenger vehicles in southern Rwanda on Saturday, killing two and injuring eight, the Ministry of Defence said, adding the military was pursuing the attackers who had fled into a forest.
The incident comes days after President Paul Kagame said at least two Rwandan soldiers and an unknown number of rebels were killed when a group of attackers crossed into Rwanda from the Democratic Republic of Congo last week.
The defence ministry said in a statement that the Saturday evening incident occurred in Cyitabi Sector of Nyamagabe District, near the border with Burundi, and the attackers had fled to nearby Nyungwe Forest.
“We have been watching the situation in this area for some time now and have a good idea of who is behind today’s incident. We are in pursuit of the attackers and action will be taken against those responsible,” Lt. Col Innocent Munyengango, the military spokesman, said.
The military spokesman was not immediately available to give more details on Saturday’s attack.
Kagame had said on Friday that the group responsible for the earlier incident may have been carrying out an attack to test Rwanda’s defences.
While Kagame did not identify that group, rebel groups among those operating in the Democratic Republic of Congo include the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).
A spokesman for FDLR said they were behind the attack.
The FDLR includes former Hutu militiamen responsible for Rwanda’s 1994 genocide who then fled into eastern Congo. Its presence on Congolese soil has been cited as a reason for a series of military interventions by Rwanda.
Kagame left open the possibility that the attack may have been mounted by a new group called RNC, one of several other groups which he said had joined forces with FDLR.