Rwanda and DRC leaders set to confer on Eastern Congo

Alongside Angolan mediation efforts, Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Democratic Republic of the Congo President Felix Tshisekedi agrees to discuss security concerns in eastern region of country

As announced by the Foreign Minister of Angola on Monday, Paul Kagame, the president of Rwanda, and Felix Tshisekedi, the president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), have decided to have talks in an effort to resolve the growing security concerns in the turbulent eastern area of the DRC

Over 100,000 people have been displaced by fighting between Congolese military forces and the mostly Tutsi M23 rebels in the eastern portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to UN reports.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo, the United Nations, and a number of Western countries have accused Rwanda of providing assistance to the M23 rebels, a charge that Kigali has categorically refuted.

As a result of Angola’s mediation efforts, President Kagame and President Joao Lourenco of Angola met in Luanda. Lourenco, the mediator appointed by the African Union, led talks aimed at resolving the dispute.

An official statement from the Rwandan president, sent via their official communication channel, X, described the accord that was achieved during the conference. The two heads of state underlined the need to follow the Nairobi and Luanda processes in order to promote peace and stability in the area and agreed to take major steps to address the root causes of the conflict.

Previous signals from the DRC government, as communicated by X, indicated President Tshisekedi’s openness to speak with President Kagame. However some requirements were set forward, such as the evacuation of Rwandan forces from Congolese territory, the end of hostilities, and the destruction of M23 rebel positions.

Following their meeting in Addis Ababa at a conference called by President Lourenco, Kagame and Tshisekedi are now considering meeting. Diplomatic sources in attendance said that emotions were high throughout the meeting, which ended with verbal altercations.

The security situation in the Rwandan border area of North Kivu has worsened due to the M23 rebels’ return after an eight-year hibernation. By the end of 2023, there will be around seven million displaced people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), with 2.5 million of those people living in North Kivu alone, according to UN estimates. 

Source: AFP