France, March 28 -- A truce announced last week by AFC/M23 rebels in Walikale, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, has collapsed after just a few days. The Congolese army now accuses the Rwandan-backed group of reinforcing its military positions in North and South Kivu provinces.

Walikale has become a strategic junction in the eastern DRC, where a long-running conflict between the army and rebel groups was reignited in December.

The town is now a key crossing point towards Kisangani, where the DRC's armed forces (FARDC) relocated their headquarters following the capture of Goma and Bukavu by the AFC/M23 earlier this year.

The announcement of a truce was taken seriously by Kinshasa, the FARDC and Kigali, but the withdrawal neve...