Belgium and Rwanda announced the expulsion of each other's diplomats, as relations deteriorated over allegations about their respective roles in the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Rwanda says it has cut diplomatic ties with Belgium and ordered all of the European country’s diplomats to leave the country within 48 hours.

Decision 'effective immediately,' Belgian diplomats to leave Rwanda in 48 hours, Rwanda criticizes Belgium for 'destructive historical role in fueling ethnic extremism' - Anadolu Ajansı

Democratic Republic of Congo will send a delegation to Angola on Tuesday for talks aiming to resolve a spiralling conflict against Rwandan-backed rebels in the east, the presidency said on Sunday. Angola said last week that direct peace talks between Congo and M23 rebels would begin in the Angolan capital Luanda on March 18.

Congo’s government says it will participate in peace talks in Angola with the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group that has captured key areas of Congo’s mineral-rich east.

The M23 rebels on Monday continued their offensive in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo ahead of direct peace talks with the Congolese government in Angola, according to local media. The fighting approached the territorial capital of Walikale in the eastern province of North Kivu, Congolese news website Actualite reported.