Peace summit between Rwanda and Congo cancelled
Peace negotiations between Rwandan and Congolese leaders to end their long and deadly conflict in eastern Congo will not take place. The talks were due to take place in the Angolan capital, Luanda, on Sunday, but the Angolan president's media officer has announced that they will not go ahead.
Rwanda and Congo have been in conflict for more than 20 years. M23 rebels, backed by Rwandan troops, according to the UN, have been fighting the Congolese army since 2021 and have seized large areas of the mineral-rich North Kivu province. The three-year insurgency has displaced nearly 2 million people.
Thanks to Angolan mediation, the two countries reached a ceasefire agreement at the end of July that was supposed to end the fighting. Rwandan president Paul Kagame and his Congolese counterpart, Félix Tshisekedi, were due to meet in Luanda on Sunday to reach an agreement on peace and stability in the region.
Peace talks stall
But negotiations between the two countries appear to have stalled, with Sunday's summit cancelled at the last minute. "Contrary to what we expected, the summit will not take place today," the Angolan president's office said on Sunday.
"Contrary to what we expected, the summit will not take place today"
The Congolese president's spokesperson said Rwanda demanded that Congo start direct talks with the M23 rebel movement as a precondition for an agreement, which Congo rejected.
"The cancellation of this tripartite is caused by the refusal of the Rwandan delegation to take part," the government of Congo said in a statement. Rwanda’s Foreign minister, Olivier Nduhungirehe, only said the meeting had been postponed.
© PHOTO GUERCHOM NDEBO / AFP
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