Congo and Rwanda announce that peace talks in Angola will be canceled

Congo and Rwanda announce that peace talks in Angola will be canceled

Kinshasa: A planned meeting between the presidents of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Sunday has been canceled, both nations announced, dealing a blow to hopes of securing a deal to address the ongoing M23 rebel conflict in Congo, which has displaced over 1.9 million people.

The summit was intended to facilitate a rare in-person discussion between the two central African leaders in Angola, where peace talks have been underway for months in an effort to ease the tensions linked to the nearly three-year M23 insurgency. Expectations had been high that a peace agreement would be signed, sparking hopes that it could bring an end to a standoff that has further destabilized eastern Congo and heightened fears of a wider conflict in Africa’s Great Lakes region, reminiscent of the devastating wars between 1996 and 2003 that claimed millions of lives.

However, the meeting was called off after Rwanda refused to participate, according to a statement from Congo's presidency. The Congolese government explained that Rwanda conditioned its participation on Congo agreeing to hold direct talks with the M23 rebels, a demand that Congo rejected.

Rwanda’s foreign ministry confirmed that the lack of consensus meant the peace agreement could not be signed on Sunday. It suggested that postponing the meeting would give Congo time to engage directly with the M23 group, in line with Rwanda's stipulation.

The proposed peace plan included a commitment from Rwanda to dismantle its "defensive measures" in the conflict in exchange for Congo agreeing to eliminate the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a Hutu rebel group responsible for attacks on Tutsis in both countries.

Congo, the United Nations, and other international actors have accused Rwanda of backing the M23 insurgency in North Kivu province, with claims that Rwanda has deployed troops and provided weapons to the group, which was originally formed to defend the interests of Congolese Tutsis, a group to which Rwandan President Paul Kagame belongs. Rwanda denies these accusations, acknowledging only that it has taken defensive actions, and in turn, accuses Congo of recruiting FDLR militants to fight alongside its forces.

U.N. experts recently reported that as many as 3,000 to 4,000 Rwandan troops were present in Congo, with "de facto control" over M23 operations.

Congo expert Jason Stearns of Canada’s Simon Fraser University stressed the need for greater international pressure on Rwanda to back down, noting that the U.S. has been the primary force pushing for change, but its efforts are hampered by its own political transition. "There’s very little pressure, especially as the U.S. is going through its own transition," Stearns said.

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