Mr Nzongola-Ntajala said this during the 11th emergency UN General Assembly session to debate and vote on a resolution on Russia's annexation of four Ukrainian regions.

He accused Rwanda of occupying Congo "in 1998 to 2003" plundering gold and coltan "and many other resources".

“They even take chimpanzees and gorillas from the Congolese forests taking them to Rwanda, all of this is well known,” Mr Nzongola-Ntajala added.

Rwanda, Uganda, and DR Congo share the massive volcanoes between their borders that are home to rare mountain gorillas.

Rwandan envoy Robert Kayinamura appeared to laugh at Mr Nzongola-Ntajala's statement.

“These allegations... every time there is no flowing water - it is Rwanda, there’s no electricity - it is Rwanda, there’s no roads it is Rwanda…We need to move beyond that kind of mentality,” Mr Kayinamura said.

Videos of the exchange have been shared widely.

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-africa-62845571#:~:text=50%2013%20Oct-,Envoy%20accuses%20Rwanda%20of%20taking%20DR%20Congo%27s%20gorillas,Read%20more%20about%20these%20links.,-Posted%20at%2019

In September, during the UN General Assembly, DR Congo President Félix Tshisekedi accused Rwanda "of direct aggression", before his counterpart Paul Kagame replied that "blame game doesn’t solve the problems".

Rwanda has continuously denied allegations of supporting M23 rebels who now control the border city of Bunagana and areas around it in DR Congo’s North Kivu province.