The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has closed its borders with neighboring Rwanda following a diplomatic escalation between the two countries.

The South Kivu provincial governor’s office said in a statement yesterday that it has “received instructions from the central government to close the border with Rwanda as of today,” without providing details of the decision.

In this regard, the Rwandan authorities resumed their denial of what they called “Congolese allegations” regarding her support for the March 23 rebels and sending military forces to eastern Congo.

The Rwandan army commented on what happened on the joint border between the two countries a few days ago, saying in a statement that “two Rwandan police officers were injured when a Congolese soldier crossed the border and opened fire before the officer on duty shot and killed him at 25 meters from the border with Rwanda.

The border closure is the latest escalation in a diplomatic crisis that has begun between the two neighbors in Central Africa, as rebels, whom the Kinshasa authorities accuse their Kigali counterparts of supporting, launched a major attack in the east of the country last month.