Synopsis
Angola is actively working to mediate direct talks between the DRC government and the M23 rebel group, aiming to ease tensions in the eastern DRC. This comes after a recent meeting between DRC President Tshisekedi and Angolan President Lourenco. The DRC has been hesitant to negotiate with the M23, complicating peace efforts in the region.Key Takeaways
- Angola is attempting to facilitate talks between the DRC and M23.
- President Tshisekedi remains firm against negotiating with the M23.
- The Luanda Process has faced setbacks in recent months.
- The DRC is interested in reviving the Nairobi Process.
- Regional leaders are exploring unifying peace processes.
Kinshasa, March 13 (NationPress) Angola has announced its efforts to initiate direct negotiations between the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the M23 rebel group in the near future.
This declaration, revealed by Angola's Presidency on Tuesday, followed a visit by DRC President Felix Tshisekedi to Luanda earlier that day, raising optimism that hostilities in the eastern regions of the DRC could diminish and avert a broader regional conflict, as reported by the Xinhua news agency.
So far, Kinshasa has declined to engage in direct discussions with the M23, which the United Nations claims is backed by neighboring Rwanda, a claim that Kigali vehemently disputes.
Decisions pending remain crucial for revitalizing peace efforts that are currently at a standstill due to ongoing disagreements among regional groups.
During his visit to Luanda, Tshisekedi met with Angolan President Joao Lourenco, a pivotal figure in the Luanda Process, a peace initiative endorsed by the African Union (AU) aimed at easing tensions between Rwanda and the DRC.
The DRC government has consistently regarded it as unacceptable to negotiate alongside the M23, which has captured significant territories in the eastern regions of North Kivu and South Kivu provinces.
In these provinces, the Congo River Alliance (AFC), a political-military faction allied with the M23, has set up a parallel provincial administration.
“Never, ever, as long as I am president of the DRC, will I have the M23 or the AFC delegation in front of me… to negotiate,” Tshisekedi stated in an interview back in August 2024.
In response to Angola's recent announcement, Tshisekedi's spokesperson, Tina Salama, characterized it as “an approach by Angolan mediation,” indicating that Kinshasa is “awaiting to see the implementation.”
The Luanda Process has faced challenges since last December when an Angola-mediated summit in Luanda between Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame was abruptly canceled. Kagame did not attend, and Kigali attributed the blame to the DRC's reluctance to engage in “direct dialogue with the M23.”
Meanwhile, the DRC has expressed its desire to rejuvenate the Nairobi Process, a peace initiative spearheaded by the East African Community (EAC) and facilitated by former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, providing Kinshasa with a platform to interact with various armed factions within the nation, including the M23.
However, Kenyatta's spokesperson Kanze Dena stated in early February that the Nairobi Process has reached a “stalemate.” The DRC government removed the M23 from the process due to its perception of the rebellion as a proxy for foreign interests, notably Rwanda.
The conflict involving the M23 and the DRC government has origins linked to the aftermath of the 1994 Rwandan genocide against the Tutsi and the enduring ethnic strife, particularly between Tutsi and Hutu communities.
The DRC has accused Rwanda of providing support to the M23, while Rwanda asserts that the DRC's military has allied with the Rwandan rebel group Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, which is implicated in the 1994 genocide.
Ongoing fighting on multiple fronts within the DRC, driven by the M23's persistent offensives, poses a risk of escalating into a broader regional conflict. “If this continues, the risk of war spreading across the region is significant,” warned Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye in early February.
African regional blocs are still emphasizing African solutions to African challenges, though Kinshasa and its regional allies are not fully aligned regarding the future direction of the Nairobi and Luanda processes.
Several African leaders have agreed to unify the two processes at a joint summit held in February, organized by the EAC and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Subsequently, the EAC and SADC announced that they have appointed Kenyatta, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, and former Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn as facilitators for their combined “Luanda/Nairobi Process.”
However, Kinshasa has called for an “alignment” to ensure that the two complementary processes are elevated to the same organizational status.
“Clearly, the two processes have entirely different objectives and stakeholders,” stated Therese Kayikwamba Wagner, the DRC's state minister for foreign affairs, in early March, emphasizing that the Nairobi Process should also be under the AU's auspices.
“We are primarily discussing aligning the two processes so that the Nairobi Process is also under the AU's umbrella, rather than exclusively under the EAC. Thus, we will have both processes at the same level,” Wagner added.
In a related development, the SADC has announced an extraordinary summit of heads of state and government scheduled for Thursday to deliberate on the security situation in the DRC, where the regional bloc may address the withdrawal of its military presence from eastern DRC.
As part of the SADC Mission in the DRC initiated in December 2023, a SADC regional force comprising personnel from Malawi, South Africa, and Tanzania has been collaborating with the DRC military to combat armed groups operating in eastern DRC.
