Tensions between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) threatened to take a new turn on Tuesday following a scuffle at a US hotel involving DRC First Lady Denise Nyakeru Tshisekedi.

Both countries have offered contradicting accounts of the incident. Rwandan authorities dismissed DRC’s claims that its security agents targeted the First Lady and termed allegations as a “gross misrepresentation” amounting to “blatant dishonesty.”The strongly worded statement from the Rwandan Embassy in the US on Wednesday, followed a briefing by DRC government spokesperson Patrick Muyaya on Tuesday night.

Complicating matters further, the US sanctioned the Rwandan military and some of its officials on March 2 for allegedly backing M23 rebels against the DRC government, a move Kigali has since condemned as “unjust”.

Muyaya confirmed that talks between the two nations took place in Washington last week and hinted that further decisions could be announced in the coming days.

Nyakeru travelled to the US at the invitation of US First Lady Melania Trump to attend a summit, the State confirmed.