Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi has sent a government delegation to the Angolan capital of Luanda, while M23 also confirmed its participation.
The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo will engage in peace talks with the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group in Angola on Tuesday, a spokesperson has confirmed.
A delegation representing DR Congo is currently in Luanda, the Angolan capital, for the negotiations, according to Tina Salama, the spokesperson for President Félix Tshisekedi.
M23 has also sent a delegation to Luanda, its spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka confirmed on X on Monday.
The conflict in eastern DR Congo has escalated sharply since January, when M23 rebels seized the strategic city of Goma, followed by the capture of Bukavu in February.
Angola, serving as a mediator, said last week that it would host direct negotiations between the Congolese government and M23 in an effort to de-escalate the conflict.
Negotiations between DR Congo and Rwanda were unexpectedly cancelled in December after Rwanda made the signing of a peace agreement conditional on a direct dialogue between DR Congo and the M23 rebels, which was refused by Kinshasa.
“A dialogue with a terrorist group like the M23 is a red line that we will never cross,” Tshisekedi said during a speech in mid-January.
M23 is one of nearly 100 armed groups operating in eastern DR Congo, a region rich in minerals. The ongoing conflict has resulted in one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises, with more than 7 million people displaced.
The UN estimates that M23 is backed by around 4,000 Rwandan troops.
Last month, the UN Human Rights Council launched an investigation into human rights abuses committed by both sides, including allegations of rape and “summary killings.”
The US State Department said last week it was open to a mining partnership in DR Congo and has confirmed that preliminary discussions had begun. Euronews
