Congo's government will participate in peace talks in Angola on Tuesday with the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group that has captured key areas of Congo’s mineral-rich east, a spokesperson said Monday.

The talks are scheduled to start on Tuesday (March 18) in Angola’s capital city, Luanda. Joao Lourenco, the Angolan President, has been appointed to mediate the conflict by the African Union

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.

The Rwanda-backed M23 armed group swept through the mineral-rich east of the DRC earlier this year, taking two major cities, with thousands killed and millions displaced.

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, a rebel group at the centre of DR Congo's crisis.