By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Angola says it will make efforts to broker direct talks between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels, seeking an end to violence in the eastern region of the East African country that has displaced thousands of people.
“Angola, as mediator in the conflict in the east of the 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 said in a statement on Tuesday.
This comes after Congo’s President, Félix Tshisekedi, paid a working visit to Angola’s capital, Luanda, and met with his counterpart, João Lourenço, the presidency added in a statement posted on Facebook.
Though DRC authorities have repeatedly vowed not to hold talks with the armed group, it is unclear whether they will take part in the discussions backed by Angola.
While Reuters quoted a spokesman in DRC’s presidency as acknowledging the initiative, an M23 deputy spokesperson described the move as “a victory of reason,” confirming the group’s readiness to hold talks.
The oil-rich Southern African country has made efforts to mediate a lasting ceasefire and de-escalate tensions between Congo and neighbouring Rwanda, which has been accused of providing funding and logistical support to the Tutsi-dominated rebel group – the ethnic group of President Paul Kagame.
In recent times, Rwanda no longer denies backing the rebels; instead, it claims its forces are acting in self-defence to prevent the violence from spreading to Kigali through the borders.
M23 rebels have taken control of Congo’s two biggest cities, Goma and Bukavu since January in an escalation of a long-running conflict rooted in the spillover into Rwanda’s 1994 genocide and the struggle for control of Congo’s vast mineral resources.
