M23 says sending delegation to DRC peace talks

The M23 armed group, which has seized control of swathes of the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, said on Monday it was sending a delegation to Angola for peace talks with the DRC government.

The talks are scheduled to start on Tuesday in Luanda, capital of neighbouring Angola, where President Joao Lourenco has been appointed by the African Union to mediate in the conflict.

Lourenco's office said last week it was organising "direct dialogue" between the Rwandan-backed M23 and the government in Kinshasa.

"A delegation of five people" was on its way to Luanda on Monday "for direct talks, at the request of the Angolan authorities", M23 spokesman Lawrence Kanyuka said on X.
He did not say who the participants were.

On Sunday evening, a spokeswoman for Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi said the government in Kinshasa would send a delegation to Luanda on Tuesday "at the invitation of the mediator to hear what they have to say".

Spokeswoman Tina Salama gave no details of the make-up of the delegation nor whether it would engage in direct talks.

Kinshasa has so far refused to negotiate directly with the M23.

The DRC government has put out rewards for the capture of several leaders of the M23 and the Congo River Alliance (AFC), a political-military alliance of which M23 is a member.

Since January, M23 has taken control of Goma and Bukavu -- the main cities in the eastern provinces of North and South Kivu respectively, which are rich in natural resources and close to the Rwandan border.
United Nations experts say M23 is backed militarily by around 4,000 Rwandan soldiers.