White House welcomes 15-day DR Congo humanitarian truce extension

(Reuters) - A humanitarian truce in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has been extended by 15 days until 11.59 p.m. local time on Aug. 3, the White House said on Wednesday, amid efforts to end the conflict between government troops and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels.

North Kivu province has been battling the M23 insurgency for more than two years as well as other militia violence.

Congo, the United Nations and Western powers have repeatedly accused Rwanda of supporting M23 with its own troops and weapons, which it denies.

Rwanda accuses Congo of financing and fighting alongside a Hutu rebel group, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), which has attacked Tutsis in both countries.

M23 says it is fighting to protect Tutsis from rivals like FDLR, whose ranks include Hutu extremists who fled to Congo after participating in the 1994 genocide targeting Tutsis and moderate Hutus in Rwanda.

"We commit to working with the Governments of the DRC, Rwanda, and Angola to use this truce extension to outline a series of steps to reach a durable cessation of hostilities...," White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement.

(Reporting by Costas Pitas; Editing by Eric Beech)