Congo – Rwanda peace talks mediated by Qatar
Qatar has mediated further peace talks between Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda in a bid to de-escalate the conflict.
According to The New Arab on March 29th, Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame convened at a meeting in Doha.
This was the first time the two men had spoken since the Rwandan backed M23 rebel group launched a new offensive in DR Congo.
Whilst M23 were not present at the discussions between DR Congo and Rwanda, a series of further meetings were held between the rebel group and Qatar.
However, the rebel group has insisted that a peace deal can only be reached through direct talks with the Congolese leadership.
Despite the fact that Rwanda has repeatedly denied backing M23, the United Nations and many Western governments have claimed that they have supported the rebels with troops and arms.
The rebel group has been making advancements across Eastern DR Congo in recent months with Maghrebi reporting on their arrival to the outskirts of Walikale on March 20th.
M23 have been present in DR Congo since first leading a rebellion against the government in 2012.
Whilst they had previously been one of a number of rebel groups in the country, since the latest rebellion broke out in 2022, M23 have gained the backing of the Rwandan government and have thus managed to make advancements into regions across DR Congo.
As more countries are drawn into the Congolese conflict, fears of a wider regional war have been raised.
Congo, Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda all have troops involved in the DR Congo.
The UN has also accused Uganda of supporting M23, however they have firmly denied the UN’s allegations.
However, Congolese officials have expressed their indignation at a social media post from the son of Uganda’s president which read: “UPDF (Ugandan People’s Defence Forces) will not oppose M23’ s seizure of Kisangani. But they better move quickly otherwise we will do it ourselves.”
A UPDF spokesperson was quick to state that “The X platform is not an official channel, so people should not take it seriously.”
The New Arab, Maghrebi
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