The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has filed a case against Rwanda at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over its role in the long-running conflict in the east, the government said this Friday.

In ‌a statement, DRC accused Rwanda of breaching international conventions, including those on genocide, racial discrimination and torture.

DRC said the alleged crimes committed against civilians included massacres, extrajudicial killings, torture, sexual violence, forced displacement and discrimination spanned over three decades.

DRC said Rwanda had dispatched forces and backed or directed armed ⁠groups to carry out unlawful military operations on its territory following the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

DRC is calling for the ICJ to order Rwanda to cease the alleged violations and award reparations to DRC and its victims.

There was no immediate response from the Rwandan government. Rwanda has consistently denied allegations that it backs any rebel groups operating in DRC.

United Nations (UN) experts and Western governments have sided with DRC in finding Rwanda responsible for providing support to M23, a major armed group in the east.

The ‌decades-long ⁠conflict is rooted in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, after remnants of the forces associated with the genocide fled across the border into eastern DRC.

This is the third time DRC has tried to bring a case against Rwanda at the ICJ, which is the UN’s highest court and deals with disputes between states and alleged breaches of international treaties.

The first case was dropped by the Congolese authorities in 2001, a second case was dismissed ⁠by the ICJ in 2006 because the court found it did not have jurisdiction because Rwanda had either not signed, or made reservations, or did not ⁠meet all the conditions in the treaties cited in DRC’s case.

–Reuters–