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.Kigali said it was severing diplomatic relations and giving Belgian diplomats 48 hours to leave the East African country,

Belgium, Rwanda’s former colonial ruler, pushed for the European Union to impose sanction against Rwandan officials over their role in invading eastern Congo and plundering its mineral wealth.

Rwanda has cut diplomatic ties with Belgium, saying it has been "consistently undermined" by the European nation during the ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.Brussels has been leading calls for European nations to sanction Rwanda over its support for the M23,

Angola announced last week that it will begin mediating direct ceasefire negotiations between the militants and DR Congo officials on March 18. “At this stage, we can’t say who will make up the delegation,” Tina Salama, spokesperson at the DR Congo presidency said, according to Reuters.

The rebel alliance, of which M23 is a member, says it was withdrawing from what could have been the two sides’ first direct negotiations because of sanctions imposed against M23 and Rwandan officials

The Rwanda-backed rebels who captured key areas of Congo's mineral-rich east said Monday they were withdrawing from peace talks this week with the Congolese government, saying that international sanctions on the group's members have undermined such dialogue.