The Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group has announced that it is no longer participating in peace talks after earlier confirming it would alongside the Congolese government, which says it will still attend the Angola-mediated Luanda meeting in Luanda Tuesday despite the M23 snub.
The M23 withdrawal from talks came after the European Union imposed sanctions on its leader and on Rwandan army commanders.
M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka wrote on X that “certain international institutions are deliberately working to sabotage peace efforts in the Democratic Republic of Congo and make the long-awaited talks impossible”.
“The successive sanctions imposed on our members, including those adopted on the eve of the Luanda discussions, seriously compromise direct dialogue and prevent any progress,” Kanyuka said, adding that for those reasons, M23 can “no longer participate in the discussion”.
Earlier on Monday, Kanyuka had reported that an M23 delegation had been sent to Angola’s capital, Luanda.
The rebel group has captured mineral-rich, key areas in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo or DRC) since the start of this year in a major offensive that has killed many thousands.
A delegation representing the DRC was now in Luanda for Tuesday’s talks, a spokesperson for DRC President Felix Tshisekedi told The Associated Press news agency earlier. Tshisekedi had previously refused direct negotiations with the rebel group over the conflict, which has longstanding roots.
Angola has been trying to mediate a ceasefire for many months. Peace talks were cancelled late last year after Rwanda insisted on direct dialogue between the DRC and M23, which the Congolese government refused.
However, Luanda announced last week that it would host direct peace negotiations.
M23 leader Bertrand Bisimwa declared last week that the rebels had forced Tshisekedi to the negotiating table, saying “Peace begins with dialogue. The sooner we talk, the sooner peace becomes a reality.”
Humanitarian crisis
The conflict in the eastern DRC escalated early this year when M23 rebels carried out a lightning offensive and seized the strategic cities of Goma and Bukavu.
M23 is one of about 100 armed groups that have been vying for a foothold in mineral-rich eastern DRC, near the border with Rwanda. The conflict has created one of the world’s most significant humanitarian crises.
More than seven million people have been displaced, while 7,000 people have reportedly died since the start of the year.
M23 is supported by about 4,000 soldiers from Rwanda, according to the United Nations, and has previously pledged to march to the DRC capital, Kinshasa.
Rwanda says its forces are acting in self-defence against the Congolese army and militias hostile to Kigali.
The conflict, which has blighted the eastern DRC for decades, is rooted in the spillover into the country of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, as well as the struggle for control of its vast mineral resources.
The UN Human Rights Council launched a commission in February to investigate atrocities, including allegations of rape and killing akin to “summary executions” by both sides.
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