Planned peace talks scheduled for Sunday between the leaders of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) were abruptly canceled following a stalemate in negotiations, officials confirmed.
The talks, mediated by Angola’s President João Lourenço in his capacity as the African Union-appointed mediator, were expected to foster a breakthrough in the ongoing conflict in eastern DRC. Since 2021, a rebel group reportedly supported by Rwanda has taken control of significant territories in the region, displacing thousands of residents and exacerbating an already dire humanitarian crisis.
Despite optimism surrounding the summit’s potential to produce a resolution, hopes were dashed by Sunday midday when the Angolan presidency’s media office announced that the meeting would no longer proceed as planned.
The collapse of the talks underscores the complexity of achieving a sustainable solution to the escalating violence and regional tensions.
Contrary to what we expected, the summit will no longer be held today.
media officer Mario Jorge told journalists.
Angolan President João Lourenço met with Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) leader Felix Tshisekedi on Sunday, but the absence of Rwandan President Paul Kagame highlighted deep divisions in the mediation efforts.
The Congolese presidency revealed that negotiations faltered over a key Rwandan demand: that the DRC engage in direct talks with the M23 rebel group. The Kigali-backed militia, primarily composed of ethnic Tutsi fighters, has controlled significant areas of eastern DRC since 2021, intensifying regional tensions and causing widespread displacement.
The deadlock reflects the DRC’s firm stance against legitimizing the M23 rebels through direct dialogue, complicating efforts to resolve the conflict and restore stability in the region.
There is a stalemate because the Rwandans have set as a precondition for the signing of an agreement that the DRC hold a direct dialogue with the M23.
Giscard Kusema, the Congolese presidency spokesman present in Luanda said.
Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe said Friday that his country wanted “a firm commitment from the DRC to resume direct talks with the M23 within a well-defined framework and timeframe.”
The Congolese government says, however, that the M23 only exists because of Rwandan military support.
“If Kigali is in good faith in the negotiations and on its promise to withdraw … its troops from Congolese soil, the conflict will end with the M23, and at the same time it will stop with Rwanda,” a Congolese government source said.
Fragile truce
Rwandan President Paul Kagame and his Congolese counterpart, Felix Tshisekedi, have not met face-to-face since October during a gathering in Paris, where they notably avoided direct engagement. Despite this, both leaders have continued dialogue through mediation led by Angola’s President João Lourenço.
In early August, Angolan mediation resulted in a fragile truce that temporarily stabilized the front lines of the conflict in eastern DRC. However, the ceasefire has unraveled, with both sides trading fire and experiencing escalating clashes since late October.
Eastern DRC, a region rich in minerals, has endured decades of internal strife and cross-border violence, fueled by a web of rival armed groups. The ongoing instability has deepened humanitarian suffering and complicated efforts to achieve lasting peace.
“Our country continues to face persistent rebellions, including the aggression by the Rwandan army and the M23 terrorists,” Tshisekedi said in parliament Wednesday, calling the militants and Rwanda “enemies of the Republic.”
The city of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), is on the brink of crisis as M23 rebels and Rwandan forces encircle the area. Home to roughly one million residents and an additional one million displaced by conflict, Goma is now nearly surrounded, raising fears of further humanitarian catastrophe.
In early November, Rwanda and the DRC established a committee to monitor ceasefire violations, chaired by Angola and including representatives from both nations. By late November, both governments approved a framework detailing the conditions under which Rwandan forces would withdraw from Congolese territory.
However, the process has been fraught with challenges. A prior proposal from August required the dismantling of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR)—a militia founded by ethnic Hutus implicated in Rwanda’s 1994 genocide—as a precondition for Rwandan withdrawal. Kigali often cites the FDLR as a significant security threat, while the militia remains one of several groups fighting alongside the Congolese army against M23.
The August proposal was rejected by Kinshasa, which insisted that Rwanda’s withdrawal and the dismantling of the FDLR occur simultaneously. This disagreement has further complicated efforts to stabilize the volatile eastern DRC, where decades of violence fueled by armed groups and regional rivalries persist.
The final strategic document, seen by Vivid Voice News, planned for a period of 90 days to “conclude the neutralization of the FDLR and the lifting of Rwanda’s defensive measures.”
