The M23 rebel group in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has suspended peace talks with the government, accusing authorities of failing to honour a ceasefire signed last month in Qatar.

The rebels said they would only return to the table if the government respected the terms of the agreement.

The standoff comes after months of renewed clashes in North Kivu and South Kivu, where the M23 has captured wide areas, including the regional capital Goma, since January.

The ceasefire deal reached in Qatar was seen as a critical step towards ending the conflict, but it has now collapsed as both sides trade blame over continued attacks.

On Monday, when the negotiations were expected to resume in Qatar, the rebel delegation did not show up.

M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka told the BBC's Great Lakes service that the government "doesn't want peace". He accused the Congolese army of attacking rebel positions in violation of the deal.

The Congolese military dismissed the claims, countering that the M23 has been carrying out daily assaults across the provinces. "They are the ones fuelling insecurity," officials in Kinshasa said, maintaining that the army has only responded to rebel offensives.

The agreement in Qatar was supposed to be formalised by Monday.

A Qatari official told AFP that a draft had already been shared with both the government and the rebels ahead of the deadline. The deal was also designed to complement a separate agreement signed in Washington in June between DR Congo and Rwanda, which was brokered by the United States.

That Washington pact, praised by President Donald Trump as a "glorious triumph", opened the way for closer ties and possible US access to Congo’s vast mineral reserves.

But it joins a long list of regional agreements that have failed to stop violence in eastern Congo.

DR Congo, the United Nations and several Western governments continue to accuse Rwanda of backing the M23, charges that Kigali has repeatedly denied despite its involvement in peace talks.

The UN estimates that thousands of people have been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced since the resurgence of fighting.