Angola to host DR Congo, M23 peace talks next Tuesday

LUANDA -- The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) government and the M23 rebel group will hold direct peace talks in Luanda, Angola's capital, on March 18, the Angolan government announced late Wednesday.

Angola's Presidency confirmed the talks in a Facebook statement. The announcement followed a meeting between Angolan President Joao Lourenco and visiting DRC President Felix Tshisekedi on Tuesday, after which Angola pledged to mediate direct negotiations between Kinshasa and the M23.

The DRC government has not yet commented on the matter.

Fighting between the DRC government and the M23 has escalated in recent months, with the rebels launching major offensives and seizing large chunks of land in the eastern North Kivu and South Kivu provinces. The Congo River Alliance, a politico-military group allied to the M23, has established a parallel provincial administration in these provinces.

The Luanda Process has been in limbo since last December, when an Angola-brokered summit in Luanda between Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame was called off at the last minute. Kagame did not show up, and Kigali blamed the DRC's refusal to have "direct dialogue with the M23."

Meanwhile, the DRC has signaled its intent to revive the Nairobi Process, a peace initiative led by the East African Community and facilitated by former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta. The process provides Kinshasa with a platform to engage with various armed groups active in the country, including the M23.

However, Kenyatta's spokesperson Kanze Dena said in early February that the Nairobi Process has reached an "impasse." The DRC government kicked the M23 out of the process because it views the rebellion as a proxy for foreign interests, particularly Rwanda.

The conflict between the M23 and the DRC government traces back to the aftermath of the 1994 Rwandan genocide against Tutsi and ongoing ethnic tensions, particularly between the Tutsi and Hutu populations.

The DRC has accused Rwanda of supporting the M23, while Rwanda says the DRC's military has allied with the Rwandan rebel group Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, which is accused of involvement in the 1994 genocide.

The fighting raging on multiple fronts of the DRC, fueled by the M23's continued offensive, threatens to spiral into a wider regional conflict. "If it continues like this, war risks becoming widespread in the region," Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye warned in early February.