U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon joins the hands of Rwandan President Paul Kagame (R) and Congolese President Joseph Kabila (L) at the UN headquarters in New York

CAPTION:

Rwanda defiantly denied claims at the United Nations on Thursday that it was aiding rebels in Democratic Republic of Congo and rejected U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon's summary of a meeting on the crisis, diplomats said.

According to Ban, most states attending a high-level meeting on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly with Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Congolese President Joseph Kigali "condemned all forms of external support" to the rebels.

Kagame said after the meeting that Rwanda rejected allegations it was supporting the M23 rebels and said that "solving the crisis will be impossible if the international community continues to define the issue erroneously."

M23 rebels, who have ties to a warlord wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes, Bosco Ntaganda, have been fighting government soldiers in eastern Congo's North Kivu province since April. Some 320,000 civilians have been displaced, reports Reuters.

"Most participants strongly condemned all forms of external support to the M23 and other negative forces in the DRC, and demanded the immediate and permanent cessation of such support," according to the meeting summary. "Some participants cautioned that those supporting the M23 could also be held accountable."

"They stressed ... the urgency of constructive engagement and dialogue between the DRC and Rwanda," it said.

Despite Rwanda's denials, a senior U.N. diplomat has said that privately Kigali was "a bit embarrassed, to say the least, and this could be one of the reasons behind the lull (in fighting) in the Kivu." He said if Rwanda withdrew support then the M23 group, numbering about 1,500, "could be subdued."

The DRC said last month it had asked the U.N. Security Council to place sanctions on Rwanda's defense minister and two top military officials for backing the rebellion.

A U.N. experts' report has accused Rwandan Defense Minister James Kaberebe, chief of defense staff Charles Kayonga, and General Jacques Nziza, a military adviser to President Paul Kagame, of being "in constant contact with M23.

"There can be no possible justification for such support, whether in terms of military hardware, or strategic advice. It must stop," Britain's Minister for Africa, Mark Simmonds, told the U.N. summit. "And there can be no impunity for those who violate human rights. They must be brought to justice."

France said it would support sanctions against M23 and warned neighbouring states against supporting the group.

"The M23 is benefiting from external support, including from neighbouring DRC states," said French Minister for the Francophone countries Yamina Benguigui. "Nothing can justify the support of an armed rebellion led by war criminals. All support of M23, whatever it is, must stop."

As uneasy neighbours, Congo and Rwanda have gone to war against each other in the past. Rwanda has backed armed movements in the DRC during the past two decades, citing a need to tackle Rwandan rebels operating out of Congo's eastern hills.