This marks a shift from earlier Angola-led peace talks, which excluded M23 and as an alternative centered on Rwanda’s function within the battle.
Angola introduced on Tuesday that it’ll act as a mediator within the ongoing battle between the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Rwanda-backed M23 insurgent group, in response to an announcement launched by the Angolan president’s workplace.
Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi went to Angola to discover the opportunity of a peace course of. The assertion confirmed that Luanda will start establishing contact with each Kinshasa and M23 rebels, with direct negotiations set to happen within the coming days.
This transfer marks a change in Angola’s method, as earlier peace talks hosted by Luanda had excluded M23, focusing as an alternative on engagement with Rwanda.
M23 is one in every of almost 100 armed teams working in mineral-rich jap DR Congo, the place battle has created one of many world’s worst humanitarian crises, displacing greater than 7 million folks.
Based on UN specialists, M23 is backed by an estimated 4,000 Rwandan troops and has, at occasions, threatened to advance greater than 1,600 kilometres to DRC’s capital.
In a fast three-week offensive, M23 seized management of Goma, the most important metropolis within the nation, and captured Bukavu, the second-largest, final month.
Amid the intensifying battle, the UN Human Rights Council has launched an investigation into allegations of great human rights violations by each side, together with rape and “abstract executions”.
