KINSHASA (Reuters) -Democratic Republic of Congo is considering sending representatives to peace talks with the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group that Angola plans to host next week, two government sources said on Thursday, as the rebels listed demands to the mediation team.
Angola has been trying to mediate a lasting ceasefire and reduce tensions between Congo and neighbouring Rwanda, which has been accused of backing the Tutsi-led M23 rebels. Rwanda denies those allegations.
On Wednesday, Angola’s presidency announced direct talks between Congo and M23 would begin in Luanda on Tuesday. The dialogue would mark Congo’s first direct negotiations with M23.
President Felix Tshisekedi has until now rejected direct talks with M23 and the government has not officially confirmed its participation.
The talks show “Angola’s desire to help our region find a way out of the crisis,” Tshisekedi said in a Congo presidency post on X.
“It is crucial that the decisions taken on this occasion are rapidly translated into concrete action on the ground.”
Two government sources told Reuters on Thursday that the latest Angolan proposal was being seriously considered.
“This is a process that is beginning. Kinshasa wants it to be short but it could be long, and it will be up to the head of state to decide on the people who will represent the government side,” one of the sources said.
“Even if there is direct contact with M23, this will not exclude Kigali’s responsibility,” another source said.
M23 welcomed Angola’s initiative but asked Tshisekedi to publicly express his commitment to directly negotiating with the group.
In a statement on Thursday, the rebels also demanded a mediation team and clarity on how resolutions adopted at a joint summit of Eastern and Southern African blocs last month would be implemented.
“Only direct negotiations can pave the way for a lasting solution to the ongoing crisis,” the statement said.
ALLIES WITHDRAW
The news came as the Southern African Development Community said a summit of regional heads of state had terminated the mandate of its troop deployment in Congo, known as SAMIDRC, and decided on a phased withdrawal.
The announcement is a potential further blow to Tshisekedi, who has faced criticism of his handling of M23’s latest advance.
SADC deployed its mission in Congo, a major producer of cobalt and copper, in December 2023 with a one-year mandate that was renewed last year. It was helping Congo’s government fight rebel groups.
But a document seen by Reuters in February said the status of the bloc’s mission to Congo needed to be discussed with parties to the conflict.
The M23 rebels have seized east Congo’s two biggest cities since January in an escalation of a long-running conflict rooted in the spillover into Congo of Rwanda’s 1994 genocide and the struggle for control of Congo’s vast mineral resources.
Alphamin Resources said on Thursday it had temporarily halted its tin mine in Congo’s volatile eastern region as rebels advance toward the operations.
(Reporting by Ange Adihe Kasongo and Sonia Rolley; Writing by Robbie Corey-Boulet and Sofia Christensen; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
