Angola’s president, Joao Lourenco on Wednesday called for the “immediate withdrawal” of Rwandan troops from the Democratic Republic of Congo and for leaders of both countries to meet in Luanda over the conflict urgently.
Lourenco, in a statement from his office, “appeals for the immediate withdrawal of the Rwanda Defence Forces from the Congolese territory” and the “convening of a tripartite summit in Luanda, on an urgent basis.”
Lourenco is the African Union-appointed mediator between Kigali and Kinshasa on the conflict in the eastern DRC, where the M23 armed group has taken control of most of the regional capital, Goma.
International observers accuse Rwanda of militarily backing the M23, which it denies.
Lourenco “deplores the occupation of the city of Goma and calls for the immediate withdrawal of M23 from the illegally occupied territories”, a statement from his office said.
He “reiterates that discussions relating to the issue of M23, and all other armed groups operating in the territory of the DRC, should be resumed urgently within the Nairobi Process.”
The Kenyan mediation effort runs alongside the Luanda-led drive.The Kenyan mediation effort runs alongside the Luanda-led drive.
Lourenco also urged the DRC and Rwanda to create “the conditions necessary for the convening of a tripartite summit in Luanda, on an urgent basis, on a date to be communicated in a timely manner.”
A summit of the three leaders planned in mid-December collapsed because Rwandan President Paul Kagame failed to show, leaving Lourenco alone with DRC leader Felix Tshisekedi.
The Congolese presidency said that negotiations had hit deadlock over a Rwandan demand that the DRC hold direct dialogue with the Kigali-backed and largely ethnic Tutsi M23, who have since 2021 seized swathes of the eastern DRC.
DRC state media said that Tshisekedi would not attend crisis talks called on Wednesday with Kagame.
