(Bloomberg) -- The African Union called for a cease-fire in Democratic Republic of Congo’s fight against the M23 rebel movement before peace talks scheduled for this week. 

More than 186,000 people have fled fighting since March between Congo’s army and the rebels, who Congo and United Nations experts say are backed by neighboring Rwanda. The Rwandan government denies the accusation.

AU Chairman and Senegalese President Macky Sall, along with Moussa Faki Mahamat, the head of the AU Commission, expressed their “extreme concern at the deteriorating security situation in eastern provinces in the DRC” in an emailed statement Monday. Peace talks are scheduled to take place in Nairobi Nov. 4-13.

Read: Rwanda and Congo Trade Blame as Fight Against Rebels Escalates

Eastern Congo has suffered decades of conflict since the 1990s, when violence from the aftermath of Rwanda’s civil war and genocide spread across the border. Recent tension between the two neighbors have raised the risks of renewed fighting in the region, which is rich in gold, tantalum and other resources.

Congo expelled Rwanda’s ambassador over the weekend after the M23 took new territory in North Kivu province in the direction of the trading hub of Goma. Rwanda said in a statement it regretted the decision, and shouldn’t be blamed for Congo’s ongoing internal problems.

On Monday, Congo’s foreign ministry recalled its interim mission head from Rwanda for consultations and ordered its incoming ambassador to delay the submission of letters of accreditation, according to a communique seen by Bloomberg and confirmed by the office of the prime minister. 

Read: Congo’s M23 Says Rebellion Over After Government Victories (1)

The M23’s leadership is largely made up of members of Congo’s Tutsi community, who say they are defending the people of Rwandan heritage in the country and fighting ethnic Hutu rebel groups accused of links to the 1994 genocide.

The Congolese army and UN peacekeepers defeated a previous M23 rebellion in 2013 after the group occupied Goma for 11 days.

--With assistance from Saul Butera.

(Updates with Congo’s recall of diplomat in Kigali in sixth paragraph)

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