Rwanda has said international sanctions will reduce the likelihood of peace with M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), after the United Kingdom said it would pause some bilateral aid and impose other diplomatic sanctions on Kigali.

Since January, however, the rapid conquest and occupation of a huge area of the Democratic Republic of Congo by Rwanda and the M23 rebel group it supports has raised concerns that the principle may now be endangered.

Germany’s development ministry says it will suspend new financial commitments to Rwanda over that country's alleged support of the M23 rebels in neighboring eastern Congo.

According to the UN, last week the M23 took 116 people from Goma's CBCA Ndosho hospital and 15 others from the Heal Africa hospital, on claims they were members of the DRC's army or pro-government militias.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the advance of Rwanda-backed M23 insurgents, who have already taken two key cities in the mineral-rich eastern part of the country, is triggering panic. Reports of the surge describe widespread looting,

EU suspended defence consultations with Kigali, potentially halting future cooperation in the fight against insurgencies in Africa.

The Ugandan army confirmed Sunday it has sent troops to another town in the northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo to fight local armed groups, amid fears a raging conflict could spiral into a wider war.

Democratic Republic of Congo's government and Rwandan-backed M23 ... did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Kigali denies supporting M23. Corneille Nangaa, leader of a rebel ...

As Rwanda-backed rebels strolled through the streets of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo's second-largest city, President Felix Tshisekedi's office claimed it was actually still controlled by his army and "valiant" allied forces.

Across the border in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the same lake displayed devastation and misery after an armed group called M23 captured the lakeside city of Goma last month.