Luanda – The foreign ministers of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda met in Angola on Saturday, in the latest effort to de-escalate tensions between the neighbouring countries.
Regional relations in central Africa have been destabilised over recent months, with the DRC accusing its smaller neighbour Rwanda of backing a rebel militia group that has displaced tens of thousands of people.
Angola’s President and African Union mediator in the talks Joao Lourenco hosted the two ministers in the capital Luanda, according to an AFP journalist.
The arrival of DRC foreign minister Christophe Lutundula and his Rwandan counterpart Vincent Biruta comes amid fighting between the M23 militia and the Congolese army in the eastern DRC, with rebels capturing swathes of new territory in recent weeks.
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Rwanda is accused of supporting the M23, a mainly Tutsi Congolese militia which resumed fighting last year after laying mostly dormant for years.
Kigali has repeatedly denied the allegations, which has soured relations with Kinshasa.
The DRC expelled Rwanda’s ambassador at the end of last month, while also recalling its own envoy from Kigali.
The M23 first rose to prominence in 2012 and resumed fighting in late 2021 — claiming that the DRC had failed to honour a pledge to integrate them into the army, among other grievances.
The rebels have won a string of victories against the Congolese army in North Kivu, and the fighting has displaced tens of thousands of people.
Luanda has previously tried to normalise relations between the two neighbours.
In July the DRC said they had agreed a “de-escalation process” following a summit between Rwandan President Paul Kagame and his Congolese counterpart Felix Tshisekedi.
Lourenco went further, announcing a “ceasefire”, but clashes continued on the ground the next day.
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Source: AFP
Picture: Twitter/@kheza_jean
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