The M23 and Rwandan forces on Wednesday launched a new offensive in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, seizing a mining town in South Kivu province, as they resumed their advance towards the regional capital Bukavu.

After attacking the eastern DR Congo city of Goma last week, the M23 rebel group unilaterally decreed a humanitarian ceasefire that was supposed to have been in force since Tuesday. Congolese government spokesman Patrick Muyaya on Wednesday denounced the ceasefire as a "ploy" after the Rwandan-backed armed group began a new offensive at dawn.

The capture of Goma, the main city in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, last week by the M23 rebel group follows a three-year insurgency heavily supported by neighbouring Rwanda despite its awful impact on millions of Congolese civilians.