M23 Shuns DR Congo Peace Talks At 11th Hour After Sanctions

Kinshasa, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th Mar, 2025) The Rwanda-backed M23 group said it would not attend Tuesday's peace talks with the DR Congo government in the Angolan capital Luanda following EU sanctions on some of its top brass.

But Kinshasa said it would participate despite the M23's announced no-show.

Tina Salama, the spokeswoman for DRC President Felix Tshisekedi, told AFP: "The Congolese delegation has left Kinshasa for Luanda. We will respond to the invitation for mediation" by Angola.

The M23, which has taken vast swathes of the DRC's mineral-rich east, on Monday accused "certain international institutions" of "deliberately sabotaging peace efforts", referring notably to sanctions imposed by the European Union.

"The successive sanctions imposed on our members, including those adopted on the eve of the discussions in Luanda, seriously compromise direct dialogue and prevent any advance," it said.

The group also denounced Kinshasa's "bellicose campaign" and added that "under these conditions, the holding of talks has become impossible. As a result, our organisation will not be able to take part in the discussions".

However, the Angolan presidency insisted late Monday that the talks were on track.

"The delegation of the Democratic Republic of Congo for direct negotiations with M23 is already in Luanda," the presidency said on its Facebook page.

"The delegation of M23, in turn, will also arrive in the Angolan capital today. All conditions are created for the start of direct negotiations tomorrow, 18th March, as scheduled."

The European Union on Monday sanctioned three Rwandan military commanders and its mining agency chief over their support for armed fighters in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo as well as senior members of the M23, including its head, Bertrand Bisimwa.

It also targeted the CEO of state-run Rwanda Mines, Petroleum and Gas board "for exploiting the armed conflict" and a gold refinery based in Kigali.

The peace talks were scheduled to start on Tuesday in Luanda, as Angolan President Joao Lourenco has been appointed by the African Union to mediate in the conflict.

Numerous calls from the international community for a ceasefire have fallen on deaf ears.