Rwandan president agrees to meet Congolese counterpart in Angola over crisis in eastern DR Congo

By Hassan Isilow

Rwandan President Paul Kagame has agreed to meet with his counterpart from the Democratic Republic of Congo Felix Tshisekedi to discuss the ongoing conflict in the eastern DR Congo, the Angolan government said.

Following a meeting between Angolan President Joao Lourenco and Kagame in the capital Luanda on Monday, Angola’s Foreign Minister Tete Antonio announced that the Rwandan leader would soon meet with Tshisekedi, according to the official Angola Press Agency.

The DR Congo accuses Rwanda of backing the M23 rebels who are said to be mainly composed of fighters of Rwandan Tutsi origin. Congolese Tutsi make up some 1-2% of Congo’s population.

The M23 are fighting against the Congolese armed forces in eastern DRC.

Fighting has displaced around a million people in North Kivu, the UN said in December last year.

The rebels are reported to have captured some villages and towns near Goma. Eastern Congo is rich in mineral wealth.

Rwanda denies claims it supports the M23 rebels.

Lourenco was appointed by the African Union as a mediator to deal with the diplomatic crisis between the two neighboring countries and the rebellion in the DR Congo.

In February, Tshisekedi visited Luanda to hold talks with Lourenco, who is expected to announce a date for the meeting between the two leaders.