Mediator Angola says Congolese government and M23 rebel group will hold peace talks on March 18
Senegal Dhaka (AP) – Angola said the Congolese government and the M23 rebel group will participate in peace talks on March 18.
Angolan President Joe Lorenzo’s office said they will start “direct peace negotiations” in the capital of Luis, Angola’s capital.
Angola acted as a mediator in the conflict in eastern Congo, which escalated in late January when Rwanda-backed rebels advanced and controlled the Congolese city of Goma, the Congolese strategy. Last month, M23 occupied Bukavu, the second largest city in eastern Congo.
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Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi visited Angola on Tuesday to discuss the possibility of peace talks.
The news comes after several cancelled peace talks held in Angola, which previously ruled out M23 but focused on supporters in Rwanda.
M23 is one of about 100 armed groups who have a foothold in the mineral-rich Congo mineral-rich near the border with Rwanda, a conflict that has created one of the world’s most important humanitarian crises. More than 7 million people were displaced.
According to UN experts, the rebels were supported by about 4,000 soldiers from neighboring Rwanda, and sometimes vowed to over 1,000 miles to the Congolese capital Kinshasa in March.
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AP Africa News:
