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Foreign ministers from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda met along with the Angolan president recently for a fresh round of diplomatic talks amid rising tensions in eastern DRC. African Union has appointed Angolan President João Lourenço as a mediator for the negotiations between DRC’s President Christophe Lutundula and Rwandan President Vincent Birut
Foreign ministers from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda met along with the Angolan president recently for a fresh round of diplomatic talks amid rising tensions in eastern DRC. The African Union has appointed Angolan President João Lourenço as a mediator for the negotiations between DRC’s President Christophe Lutundula and Rwandan President Vincent Birut. Of late, tensions have been mounting between Kinshasa and Kigali since the resurgence of the March 23 Movement, popularly known as M23, late last year.
www.trendsnafrica.com has been reporting from time to time about the escalating skirmishes between M23 and, which Kinshasa allege is covertly supported by Rwanda, which Kigali denies. The tensions owe their allegiance to the reported demobilization by the DRC of fighters who took part in the former Tutsi rebellion group. Earlier, DRC agreed to take them on board in their forces.
The eastern DRC region has been plagued for nearly three decades by violence from armed groups. Efforts had already been made in Luanda to normalise relations between the two neighbours in July. A UN estimate puts that the fighting between the FARDC and the M23 has displaced some 50,000 people since 20 October. Over 12,000 people have taken refuge in Uganda.
In the meantime, the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Felix Tshisekedi, urged the youth of his country to organize themselves into groups of vigilance in the face of the M23 rebellion. He dubbed that the M3 is getting support from Rwanda in its effort to expand its borders with the main interest of appropriating its minerals. He also asked the Congolese not to give in to xenophobic remarks and other speeches of hatred or stigmatisation of Rwandophone communities.
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After several weeks of relative calm, the M23 rebellion has been on the offensive since 20 October in the territory of Rutshuru, in the province of North Kivu. The group has seized several localities on a strategic road serving Goma, a major strategic city in eastern DRC. Importantly, the Rwandan ambassador has just been expelled by the DRC, which also announced earlier this week the recall of its charge d’ affairs in Kigali.
