President Paul Kagame tells Rwandans to “tightening your belt such that even if you lose weight due to hunger, the trousers don’t fall.”

Belgium responds by saying Rwandan diplomats no longer welcome as ties fray over respective roles in the DRC conflict.

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.

"Belgium regrets the decision of Rwanda to cut off diplomatic relations with Belgium and to declare Belgium's diplomats persona non grata," Maxime Prevot, deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs, European affairs and development cooperation of Belgium, said on social media.

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. The authorities in Kigali, Rwanda's capital, have given Belgian diplomats 48 hours to leave the country.

Belgium and Rwanda announced the expulsion of each other's diplomats, as relations deteriorated over allegations about their respective roles in the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Kigali said it was severing diplomatic relations and giving Belgian diplomats 48 hours to leave the East African country,

Rwanda has taken the bold step of severing ties with Belgium, citing neocolonial patterns and historical grievances.

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. View on euronews