Maj Gen Aloys Muganga - the commander of the army's mechanised division who served as commander of the reserve forces from 2018 to 2019 - and Brig Gen Francis Mutiganda, who headed the external security in the national intelligence service, are among 14 senior officers who have been sacked.

Mr Kagame also authorised the dismissal of 116 soldiers of other ranks and approved the termination of service contracts of 112 soldiers, an RDF statement said.

The statement gave no reason for the sacking of those 244 soldiers, announced in the early hours of Wednesday.

The move comes a day after Mr Kagame reshuffled top military officers, firing a defence minister and army chief at the same time and announcing their replacements – uncommon in Rwanda.

Maj Gen Muganga, who until his sacking was commander of the mechanised division, is a graduate of US War College and served as commander of reserve forces from 2018 to 2019.

Brig Gen Mutiganda had been head of external security in the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) until 2018 when Mr Kagame redeployed him to RDF headquarters in the capital Kigali.

The reshuffle and sacking come at a time of heightened tension between Rwanda and its western neighbour DR Congo, each side accusing the other of working with a rebel group to topple the government.