Kigali/Kinshasa, Mar 18 (EFE).- The presidents of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Félix Tshisekedi, and Rwanda, Paul Kagame, met in Qatar on Tuesday where, according to the governments of the three countries, they addressed the conflict in eastern Congo involving the Rwandan-backed March 23 Movement (M23) rebel group, although without its presence.
“The heads of state reaffirmed the commitment of all parties to an immediate and unconditional ceasefire,” they said in a joint statement after the meeting in Doha, mediated by Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
The meeting took place on the same day that a direct peace dialogue between the parties was due to begin in Angola, also acting as mediator, but did not take place after the M23 pulled out following the imposition of sanctions on some of its leaders by the European Union (EU).
“The Heads of State therefore agreed on the need to continue the talks launched in Doha to lay solid foundations for a lasting peace,” the statement said.
Kagame and Tshisekedi were due to meet at a peace summit scheduled for Dec. 15, 2024, after a ceasefire agreement was signed in Luanda on Jul. 30, 2024, which came into force on Aug. 4 but was disrupted by continued fighting.
The summit was suspended due to a disagreement over the possible participation of the M23 in the negotiations: Rwanda wanted to include the rebels, while the DRC was opposed.
João Lourenço’s talks on Mar. 18 were not the first time the mediator had brought the parties together to resolve the conflict, but it was the first time the Congolese government had agreed to meet directly with the M23.
However, the Angolan Foreign Affairs Ministry confirmed late Tuesday that the dialogue could not take place “due to reasons and circumstances of force majeure” after the rebels canceled their intervention due to the restrictive measures announced by the EU on Monday.
The Congo River Alliance (AFC, in French), which includes the M23, “expresses its deep regret that certain international institutions are deliberately working to sabotage peace efforts (…) and make the long-awaited talks impossible,” the group said in a statement.
The M23, which is backed by Rwanda (according to the United Nations and countries such as the United States, Germany, and France), controls the capitals of the provinces of North and South Kivu.
These provinces border Rwanda and are rich in minerals such as gold and coltan, essential for the technology industry and the manufacture of mobile phones.
Since the conflict escalated in January, more than 850,000 people have been displaced in South Kivu alone, according to the UN Children’s Fund.
In addition, fighting in and around the North Kivu capital of Goma has left over 8,500 people dead, according to the Congolese Minister of Public Health, Samuel Roger Kamba, in late February.
In this province, the M23 (a group made up mainly of Tutsis who suffered in the 1994 Rwandan genocide) resumed armed activity in November 2021 with attacks against the Congolese army, which has advanced on several fronts, raising fears of a possible regional war.
Since 1998, eastern DRC has been embroiled in a conflict between rebel militias and the army despite the presence of the UN peacekeeping mission (MONUSCO). EFE
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