Crisis in eastern Congo : towards direct negotiations between the M23 and Kinshasa

The Angolan presidency announced Tuesday that it will establish a direct contact with the M23 armed group, with a view to direct negotiations between the Congolese government and this group, whose rebels control most of the mineral-rich provinces of North and South Kivu in eastern Congo. Until now, the Congolese authorities have described the M23 as a “terrorist group.”

INFO SOS Médias Burundi

According to the Angolan presidency, talks will take place in the coming days between the Kinshasa government and the M23. The announcement was made after Congolese President Antoine Félix Tshisekedi visited Angola to discuss with President João Lourenço, then designated by the African Union (AU) as facilitator in the conflict in eastern DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo).

“These negotiations will aim to broker a lasting peace in the Congo,” declared the Angolan presidency.

This comes after the Congolese government promised $10 million to anyone who would help the DRC track down certain M23 leaders, primarily Corneille Nangaa, head of the Congo River Alliance (AFC), a political-military movement to which the M23 is affiliated, General Makenga, and Bertrand Bisimwa, the military leader and political leader of the M23, respectively.

According to several local and foreign analysts, the M23 is in a strong position in relation to Kinshasa following the capture of two major provinces and two major cities in the east of the country – Bukavu in South Kivu and Goma in North Kivu. The M23 also controls several revenue-generating sectors, including the Rubaya mining quarries in the Masisi territory of North Kivu, which account for more than 60% of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s production of coltan, and gold; and the Numbi mining area in South Kivu, rich in cassiterite, without mentioning the methane gas found in the waters of Lake Kivu, the entirety of which is under M23 control.

However, for several days now, Kinshasa has declared that it has no intention of engaging in direct dialogue with the rebels, whom the Congolese authorities describe as “terrorists.”

Corneille Nangaa wondered whether the Congolese authorities plan to engage in dialogue with those sentenced to death, those wanted, or even with empty shells, puppets, jokers, and terrorists.

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Corneille Nangaa, head of the Congo River Alliance, which is demanding direct negotiations between the M23 and the Congolese government, at the Goma stadium on February 6, 2025, while introducing new authorities of the North Kivu province (SOS Médias Burundi)