The Latest Breaking News from DRC

The Rwanda-backed M23 armed group has taken control of the mining hub of Walikale in DR Congo, local sources said Thursday, despite attempts to broker a ceasefire this week.

Town in North Kivu province is the farthest west the group has reached since the start of its advance in January

The presidents of Rwanda and DR Congo have expressed their support for a ceasefire after holding surprise talks in Qatar, hours after peace talks in Angola failed.

The three countries call for ‘immediate and unconditional ceasefire’ in eastern DRC.

The Rwanda-backed M23 group said it would not attend Tuesday's peace talks with the DR Congo government in the Angolan capital Luanda following EU sanctions on some of its top brass.

Belgium, which has voiced concern about Rwanda's support for rebels in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has said it will respond in kind.

Rwanda announced on Monday it is severing diplomatic ties with Belgium, saying the European nation had "consistently undermined" Kigali during the ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This comes as the European Union announced sanctions against a number of senior Rwandan military commanders.

The DRC appears to be angling for the US to deploy boots on the ground, in a bid to contain armed conflict.

People tell of family members being swept away in desperate attempts to escape the advance of the M23 rebel group