DR Congo Authorities and M23 Rebels to Hold Direct Talks in Angola as Conflict Escalates 

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and M23 rebels will hold direct talks in Angola’s capital, Luanda, on 18 March. Angola’s presidency confirmed this in a statement on Wednesday.

Angola is mediating this initiative to establish a ceasefire and ease tensions between the DR Congo and Rwanda. President Félix Tshisekedi’s government has accused President Paul Kagame’s administration of backing M23, but Rwanda denied the claim.

Congo has previously refused to negotiate with M23 and warned that it will intensify its response against the rebel group. On Tuesday, its government acknowledged Angola’s initiative but did not confirm participation. According to a Reuters report, presidential spokesperson Tina Salama later said authorities had received an invitation but gave no further details.

“Angola, as mediator in the conflict in the east of Democratic Republic of Congo, will establish contacts with the M23, so that delegations from Congo and the M23 can hold direct negotiations in Luanda in the coming days,” the presidency added.

M23 leader Bertrand Bisimwa called the talks a “civilised option.”

“We said it, we did it: ‘We committed to thwarting Mr. Tshisekedi’s military option to bring him, willingly or by force, to the negotiating table – the only civilized option to resolve the current crisis that has lasted for decades” he said in a post on X.

Since January, M23 has seized several strategic towns in eastern Congo. On 21 January, they captured Minova, a key trading town in South Kivu province, which serves as a vital supply route to the provincial capital, Goma. The rebels also took control of the mining towns of Lumbishi, Numbi, and Shanje in South Kivu and Bweremana in North Kivu province.

Eastern Congo holds vast coltan, cobalt, copper, and lithium deposits. Control over these resources continues to drive the violence. With troops from South Africa, Burundi, and Uganda being in eastern Congo, there have been fears of a war breaking out.

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