International sanctions against Rwanda will reduce the incentive for Kinshasa to engage in peace talks with M23 rebels who have made lightning advances in eastern Congo this year, a proscribed Rwandan minister has said.

Burundi troops -- allies of Kinshasa -- were still deploying Tuesday in east DR Congo, as the UK announced it was suspending most direct bilateral aid to Rwanda over an

R ulers of the Democratic Republic of Congo have rarely, if ever, fully controlled the east of Africa’s second-largest country. Kinshasa, its capital, is 1,500km from the provinces (South Kivu, North Kivu and Ituri) that border the other Great Lakes countries (Burundi,

As the M23 rebels, supported by Rwanda, push further into South Kivu province in eastern Congo, the wives of the missing Congolese soldiers find themselves grappling with uncertainty, facing a harsh reality filled with unanswered questions and unstable living conditions.

As Rwanda-backed M23 rebels continue their advance into eastern Congo’s South Kivu province, the wives of missing Congolese soldiers are left with more questions than answers, living in precarious conditions.

After the M23 Rwanda-backed rebels Feb. 16 occupied Bukavu, a second major city in mineral-rich eastern Congo, Catholic bishops and experts are warning this offensive in the provinces of North and South Kivu signals a clear intent to establish a permanent foreign country presence in the region.

Over the last 10 days, Kinshasa has won some battles; the US imposed sanctions on a Rwandan State minister James Kabarebe and M23 political spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka.

DRC hopes opening its vast mine fields to the Western world will pave way to long lasting

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.

The United Kingdom has now joined other EU member states such as Belgium, Germany in imposing sanctions on Rwanda over the ongoing conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This decision,

As vast swaths of Congolese territory are seized by a Rwandan-backed armed group, Congo’s president looks to make a minerals deal with the United States.

Democratic Republic of Congo Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka said the security and humanitarian situation in the region 'has reached alarming levels.'