Peace Talks Between Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda Break Down

No Quarter Democratic Republic of the Congo / Rwanda Peace talks between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) collapsed this week, further derailing efforts to end the protracted conflict in the eastern DRC, and leaving the region’s escalating humanitarian crisis unresolved, Al Jazeera reported. On Sunday, Angola – which mediated the talks – announced that the summit between DRC President Félix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame would not take place in the Angolan capital Luanda. While Angolan officials did not elaborate on why the meeting was canceled, the DRC presidency blamed Rwanda’s refusal to participate in the meeting as the reason for the breakdown. The government in Kigali, Rwanda’s capital, reportedly demanded direct talks between the DRC government and the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels, a largely ethnic Tutsi group that has seized sizeable territory in resource-rich eastern Congo since 2021. However, the DRC maintains that the M23 is a proxy for Rwandan military forces and has refused direct negotiations without Rwanda’s withdrawal. Sunday’s talks, mediated by Angolan President João Lourenço under the African Union’s auspices, had been seen as a critical opportunity to broker peace after years of conflict. Their collapse comes after months of fragile ceasefires and renewed fighting. A truce brokered by Angola in August briefly stabilized the frontline, but clashes reignited in October. Last week, the DRC military accused M23 rebels of killing 12 civilians in North Kivu province. The armed group denied the allegation, calling it government propaganda. M23 is one of about 100 other armed factions that have contributed to decades of violence in the eastern DRC, displacing over seven million people, according to Africanews. Rwanda has long denied supporting M23 but admitted in February to deploying troops and missile systems in eastern Congo, citing security threats from the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) – a militia formed by ethnic Hutus involved in Rwanda’s 1994 genocide. Recent negotiations outlined plans for a phased withdrawal of Rwandan forces and neutralization of the FDLR, but no significant progress has been made, according to Agence France-Presse. Meanwhile, international observers, including the United States, continue to express grave concern over the ceasefire violations. Share this story