By Andrew Mills and Sonia Rolley
DOHA (Reuters) – The Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwandan-backed M23 rebels have restarted peace talks in Qatar, sources said on Tuesday, part of a diplomatic effort to end fighting in Congo’s war-ravaged east.
The two sides last met in Doha in April to discuss a deal that would end fighting this year that has killed thousands, displaced hundreds of thousands more and raised fears of a wider regional war.
An official with knowledge of the talks in Doha told Reuters that the latest round began on May 3.
“The negotiations are being held in a positive atmosphere, and both parties have expressed optimism about the dialogue,” said the official, who asked to remain anonymous.
However, two rebel sources said M23 had sent a lower-level delegation than in the earlier round last month, and complained that government delegations had not been empowered to make any decisions in Doha.
They also said government officials had not done enough on confidence-building measures such as the release of suspected M23 members held by Congo.
A government spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. A source in Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi’s office said Kinshasa’s priority was peace and it was open to amnesty in some cases.
In statements released after last month’s talks, both sides committed to ending acts of violence and hate speech and called on the Congolese people to support a ceasefire and help create a constructive environment for dialogue.
However, participants complained that the talks had quickly become bogged down in technical details.
Fighting in eastern Congo has since continued. The U.N. humanitarian office said on Tuesday that armed clashes in North Kivu province had displaced at least 30,000 people since Friday.
WASHINGTON EYES MINERALS DEALS
Qatar has been involved in talks to end the ongoing flare-up of violence in eastern Congo, part of a conflict that goes back decades and is rooted in the Rwandan genocide, since brokering a surprise meeting between Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame in March.
The United Nations and Western governments say Rwanda has provided arms and troops to M23. Rwanda denies backing M23 and says its military has acted in self-defence against Congo’s army and a militia founded by perpetrators of the 1994 genocide.
Washington is also trying to broker peace between Congo and Rwanda, pushing for a deal along with bilateral economic packages with each country to be finalised by July.
Massad Boulos, U.S. President Donald Trump’s senior adviser for Africa, has said the bilateral deals would bring billions of dollars of Western investment to a region rich in critical minerals.
(Reporting by Andrew Mills and Sonia Rolley; Additional reporting by Ange Adihe Kasongo; Writing by Anait Miridzhanian; Editing by Robbie Corey-Boulet and Aidan Lewis)
