The eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo is destabilized by the action of many armed groups, including the M23, which currently occupies a large part of the province of North Kivu, thanks to the military support of Rwanda. Despite the ceasefire in force for more than a month, Rwandan troops remain deployed on Congolese soil and peace is far from being restored. Meanwhile, Angolan mediation is pushing to find a peace agreement between Rwanda and the DRC.
It is in this context that a new ministerial meeting between the Congolese and Rwandan parties is announced for this Friday, September 14 in Luanda. This new meeting will aim to advance the plan to neutralize the FDLR rebels and withdraw Rwandan troops from DRC soil.
"Today we are working on two levels, on the one hand we must neutralize the FDLR and on the other hand the Rwandan forces must withdraw. On September 14, there will be a new ministerial meeting that will try to analyze the experts' reports but we can note that the ceasefire for example is generally respected even if here and there we deplore incidents in relation to the sensitivity of the region but we think that we are on a good path that can allow us to achieve peace", indicated the government spokesman, Patrick Muyaya, guest on TV5 Monday.
The Congolese government says it is counting on Kigali's sincerity. "We hope that the Rwandan side, which has excelled for a long time in violating what was agreed, will this time be able to choose peace," Muyaya said.
For several months, Kinshasa and Kigali have been discussing around the mediator appointed by the African Union, João Lourenço, Angolan President, a concrete proposal for a lasting and definitive peace agreement for the conflict in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The third ministerial meeting between the Rwandan and Congolese delegations concluded in Luanda, Angola, a few weeks ago. Organized under the aegis of the Angolan authorities, this meeting aimed to advance the peace process in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where the Congolese army is in confrontation with the M23, a rebel group supported by Kigali.
The parties agreed on the imperative need to implement a plan to neutralize the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR). This plan, initially proposed by Kinshasa, was harmonized during the meetings of 7 and 8 August. A consensus was also reached to strengthen the ad hoc verification mechanism, with the integration of intelligence experts from the three countries. The possibility of involving other actors to ensure compliance with the ceasefire in force since 4 August was also discussed. No significant progress was made on the withdrawal of Rwandan troops from Congolese soil, a priority for Kinshasa. Kinshasa also hopes to obtain an end to Kigali's support for the M23, which continues to gain ground, particularly in the Lubero territory in North Kivu.
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