Kagame's comments clearly suggested that he wants South Africa to back off from DR Congo, where its military involvement dates back to the late 1990s. It first joined the UN's peacekeeping mission, Monusco, following the end of the racist system of apartheid in 1994.

Rwandan-backed M23 rebels asserted their control over east Congo's largest city Goma on Thursday by calling on residents to resume normal life, even as the group clashed with Congolese troops as they tried to take more territory.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame has lashed out at South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa, after Ramaphosa accused Rwanda of backing the M23 rebels behind the escalating crisis in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo this week.