Rwanda has cut diplomatic ties with Belgium, accusing it of “neo-colonial delusions” and ordering all Belgian diplomats in the country to leave within 48 hours.

Kigali said Rwanda’s former colonial ruler had consistently undermined the country and was now trying to destabilise it, along with the rest of the region.

The expulsion of Belgian diplomats came with Paul Kagame, Rwanda’s president, under European pressure over Kigali’s support for the M23 rebel group which has seized swathes of territory and captured two cities in eastern areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) this year.

On Monday, the European Union sanctioned three of Rwanda’s military commanders and the head of its state mining agency over its support for the group.

A United Nations report said last year that Kigali effectively controls the M23 rebels and has around 4,000 troops in the neighbouring DRC. Britain, Germany and Canada have also cut their aid funding in recent weeks.