Uganda and Rwanda trade insults in border row

The diplomatic feud between Rwanda and Uganda has spilled over to Twitter where top government officials have exchanged tough words.

The two East African neighbours are locked in a row over security and spying allegations.

Both countries had agreed to resolve all issues between them in an agreement signed in August 2019 in Angola's capital, Luanda. But subsequent talks have been pushed back a few times.

On Thursday, Uganda's Minister for Regional Affairs Philemon Mateke tweeted that "nothing good comes from signing a pact" with its neighbour.

Rwanda's minister in charge of the East African Community (EAC) trade bloc Olivier Nduhungirehe responded by telling his Ugandan counterpart to "allow real diplomats to do their job".

The tweets contained unfriendly references to each other.

Rwanda closed its border with Uganda in March 2019 and has restricted movement of goods and people between the two countries. It recently gave Uganda a list of 200 names of citizens who it says are illegally detained in Uganda and should be released in order to ease tensions between the two countries.

Uganda accuses Rwanda of deploying intelligence agents in Uganda and infiltrating Uganda's security services. Uganda has continued to arrest and deport dozens of Rwandans.