The AFC/M23 rebels have confirmed that they are sending a delegation of five members to Luanda, Angola for direct negotiations with the DR Congo government, scheduled for Tuesday, March 18. M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka said their representatives would depart for Luanda on Monday. ALSO READ: M23’s Makenga welcomes Angola-mediated negotiations with Kinshasa Angolan President João Lourenço announced direct peace talks between the rebels and Kinshasa government on March 11, after a meeting with his Congolese counterpaert Felix Tshisekedi. M23 political leader Bertrand Bisimwa received an invitation letter from Lourenço on March 13. Congolese media reports said Monday that Deputy Prime Minister Jean Pierre Bemba would lead the Congolese delegation to the Luanda talks. The negotiations will be the first direct engagement between the M23 rebels and the Congolese government since the conflict began in November 2021. ALSO READ: Gen Muganga in Harare for joint EAC-SADC meeting on DR Congo crisis The upcoming talks mark a significant step toward finding a solution to the conflict as Tshisekedi had long refused to engage directly with M23 rebels, who are part of the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC). “The AFC/M23 reiterates its deep gratitude to President João Lourenço of the Republic of Angola for his tireless efforts towards a peaceful resolution of the ongoing conflict in the DRC,” Kanyuka said. Meanwhile, the M23 has accused the Congolese government of supporting militias engaged in ethnic cleansing against Congolese Tutsi. Among these groups is the genocidal FDLR, which is part of a coalition backing the Congolese army. Various regional and international actors have called for talks after the rebels took control of two major cities in eastern DR Congo in January and February. The M23 says it is fighting for the rights of Congolese Tutsi communities who have been persecuted for decades at the hands of Kinshasa and a myriad of brutal militia groups, including the FDLR, linked to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. It says it is also fighting against corruption and bad governance that have plagued DR Congo for years. M23 rebels resumed fighting in 2021 after nearly a decade of inactivity. In January this year, they took control of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, and captured Bukavu in South Kivu in February. ALSO READ: DR Congo, M23 to have direct talks, says Angola Since mid-2022, Angolan President João Lourenço has served as a mediator in the Luanda Peace Process for DR Congo. However, this initiative, which also sought to amend Rwanda-DR Congo relations, collapsed in December 2024 when the Congolese government refused to sign an agreement that would have paved the way for direct negotiations with M23.
