The leader of the Democratic Republic of Congo has escalated his verbal attacks on his Rwandan counterpart by likening him to Adolf Hitler. Félix Tshisekedi, currently campaigning for re-election, made the comparison during a rally near the Rwandan border in Bukavu.

Accusing Paul Kagame of Hitler-like behavior, Tshisekedi asserted, "I promise he will end up like Hitler."

The Congolese president has frequently accused Rwanda of supporting rebels in the eastern part of his country, an allegation consistently denied by Rwanda. The Rwandan government's spokesperson characterized Tshisekedi's comments as a clear and audible threat.

As the election approaches, Tshisekedi seeks support for a second term amid ongoing insecurity in the east, marked by various armed groups, including the Tutsi-led M23 rebels, whom he claims receive support from Rwanda.

A UN report earlier this year, supported by the US, echoed this observation. Despite efforts to curb violence through ceasefire agreements and the presence of regional and UN troops, the situation remains precarious in the eastern region, compelling large numbers of people to flee their homes.

Addressing supporters, Tshisekedi declared that he would inform Kagame that if he continued with expansionist aims reminiscent of Hitler, he would inevitably meet a similar fate.

"However, he [has] met his match, someone who is determined to stop him and protect his country."

Hitler, responsible for the deaths of millions, including six million Jewish people in the Holocaust, ended up taking his own life in a bunker in the German capital, Berlin, in 1945.

His efforts to expand German territory led to World War Two.

Mr Tshisekedi has previously described the Rwandan leader as "the enemy of the Democratic Republic of Congo". In a BBC interview last year, he said their relationship was "cold for lack of a better word. It is he who unfortunately decided to attack the Democratic Republic of Congo".

Mr Kagame has always dismissed such talk in the past, accused Mr Tshisekedi of being a "war monger" and instead focussed on another rebel group in the east of DR Congo - the Hutu-led FDLR - which Rwanda sees as a threat.

In her message on X, formerly Twitter, responding to the Hitler remarks, Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo said it was "a loud and clear threat by the DRC president, in a context where the FDLR is more armed than ever".

Mr Kagame has been the dominant political figure in Rwanda since the end of the 1994 genocide, in which about 800,000 people were slaughtered by ethnic Hutu extremists targeting the Tutsi minority.

Noted