The Democratic Republic of Congo's foreign minister on Wednesday blasted the lack of international action over the offensive by the M23 armed group in the east of the country.
"We see a lot of declarations but we don't see actions," Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner told journalists after meeting her Belgian counterpart in Brussels.
The M23 forces on Wednesday launched a new assault in eastern DRC to capture a mining town in South Kivu province, a day after a "ceasefire" unilaterally declared by the armed group took effect.
The latest clashes come just days after the M23 and Rwandan troops captured the key city of Goma, capital of neighbouring North Kivu province.
'A threat to international peace and security'
"This crisis is a threat to international peace and security," Kayikwamba Wagner said, claiming that "more than 4,000 Rwandan soldiers" were on Congolese territory.
"How does this armed group manage to have the power to, almost, neutralise a United Nations peacekeeping mission?" she said.
Belgian foreign minister Maxime Prevot backed the calls for action and said sanctions should be imposed on Rwanda over the fighting.
Belgium, the DRC's former colonial ruler, has already called on the rest of the European Union to punish Rwanda.
International community needs to 'wake up': Belgium
Ministers from the bloc are set to discuss the conflict later this month.
"We are not going to spare any effort to convince those around us that there is an urgent need to ensure that the international community wakes up to avoid more bloodbaths," Prevot said.
Last week's capture of Goma was a major escalation in the mineral-rich region, scarred by relentless conflict involving dozens of armed groups over three decades.
There are fears the already devastating conflict could escalate into a wider regional war.
Rwanda accuses DRC of supporting armed group
Rwanda has never explicitly admitted to military involvement in support of the M23 and alleges the DRC supports and shelters the FDLR, an armed group created by ethnic Hutus who massacred Tutsis during the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
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