DR Congo -Rwanda crisis / Credit: REUTERS

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has called for a meeting of the East African Community heads of state on Monday to discuss peace and security in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to a government statement.

Mr Kenyatta, who is currently the head of the bloc, had last Wednesday urged the immediate deployment of a regional force to stop the violence in eastern DR Congo.

DR Congo is however opposed to Rwanda being part of the proposed regional force and has suspended bilateral relations with Kigali.

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It accuses Rwanda of backing M23 rebels who recently captured the border town of Bunagana.

President Félix Tshisekedi also accused Rwanda of seeking to occupy his country to exploit its minerals and asked the UK to pressure Kigali to stop its aggression.

Rwanda denies the allegations.

Tensions between the two countries have escalated in recent weeks with anti-Rwanda protests reported in Kinshasa and in the east.

Three days ago, a Congolese soldier opened fire at Rwandan security officers at a border post, injuring two police officers. The soldier was shot dead.

Kenya is the host and facilitator of direct peace talks between the DR Congo government and the different rebel forces.

The dialogue is however yet to yield any results.