TALKS between DR Congo and the M23 armed group that has captured swathes of the central African country’s volatile east will take place in Luanda soon, the Angolan presidency said Tuesday.
Angola “as mediator in the conflict… will contact M23 so that the delegations of DRC and M23 can hold direct negotiations in Luanda in the coming days for a definitive peace,” it said after a visit by Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi.
Peace talks have stalled over Tshisekedi’s repeated refusal to engage in dialogue with M23 which, backed by Rwandan troops, has carried out a lightning offensive in eastern DRC.
The U-turn comes after Tshisekedi met Angolan counterpart Joao Lourenco on Tuesday to discuss the conflict.
Since January, the two major cities of eastern DRC — Goma and Bukavu — have fallen into the hands of the M23 group, which took up arms again in 2021.
It is supported by some 4,000 Rwandan soldiers, according to UN experts.
Credit: AFP
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