U.K. authorities are punishing Rwanda over its support of the rebels who now control two major cities in eastern Congo.

Burundi troops -- allies of Kinshasa -- were still deploying Tuesday in east DR Congo, as the UK announced it was suspending most direct bilateral aid to Rwanda over an offensive by M23 fighters that UN experts say is supported by soldiers from the east African nation.

A "silent genocide" — mimicking the Rwandan one of 1994 — is occurring in eastern Congo, said some Catholic Church sources, as shock greeted the killing of 70 people in a Protestant church in the North Kivu Province.

LIVE: M23 Captures South Kivu’s Capital Bukavu as DR Congo Soldiers Flee | Firstpost Africa Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have captured the second-biggest city in DR Congo’s mineral-rich East. They have captured Bukavu,

M23 Rebels Capture South Kivu’s Bukavu as Uganda Threatens Attack | Firstpost Africa | N18G Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have captured the second-biggest city in DR Congo’s mineral-rich East. They have captured Bukavu,

Bukavu rises from chaos, but scars remain. Looters and rebels left devastation, yet merchants return, clinging to hope. As M23 advances, fear grips the region—will peace hold, or is worse to come?

M23 rebels have taken control of the strategic Kavumu airport that serves Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province, the rebel group and a civil security source said Friday. The rebels also seized the town of Katana.

The Congolese army called on deserters to rejoin their units on Thursday, as rogue soldiers fired guns and looted parts of the eastern town of Lubero after fleeing nearby clashes with advancing Rwandan-backed rebels.

Felix Tshisekedi told a meeting of the ruling Sacred Union coalition not to be distracted by internal quarrels.

It is high time the South African National Defence Forces' (SANDF) holed up in a UN base camp in DR Congo's North Kivu Province returned home since they have no business in AFC/M23 rebel-held territory.