Leaders may meet 'soon' over unrest-hit east DR Congo: Angola

Congolese soldiers. [AFP]

The presidents of DR Congo and Rwanda may meet "very soon" for talks aimed at establishing peace in the unrest-hit eastern DR Congo, Angola said Thursday.

Angola has been mediating in the conflict in the eastern DRC region of North Kivu, where Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have been fighting Democratic Republic of Congo forces since late 2021.

The M23 has seized vast swathes of territory over the past several years, almost completely encircling Goma, the provincial capital of North Kivu, killing scores of people and displacing hundreds of thousands more.

In a bid to end the unrest, diplomatic efforts have been going on for several months to bring Rwanda President Paul Kagame and DR Congo President Felix Tshisekedi together.

On Thursday, Angolan President Joao Lourenco said during a visit to Ivory Coast that "we are currently negotiating, at ministerial level, with a view to being able to bring together very soon the two heads of state of the DRC and Rwanda, for a direct exchange on the pressing need to reach a definitive peace".

"Doubtless the only way out is to resolve this conflict around the negotiating table. That is what we are about," he said at the presidential palace in Abidjan.

But DR Congo's Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka on Thursday ruled out any negotiations with Rwanda, calling for "strong actions and targeted sanctions" against Kigali.

"I believe that the head of state has been clear: We are not going to negotiate with the people attacking us," Suminwa Tuluka said during a visit to Goma.

She visited in particular a camp for refugees displaced by the violence where a bombing on May 23 attributed to M23 rebels killed 35 people.

"Diplomatic efforts... should force the aggressor to stop," she said, adding that "We are here to seek all ways possible to find a solution to your problems."

On Tuesday, Lourenco had expressed "very deep concern" about the security situation in North Kivu.

DR Congo's mineral-rich east has been the scene of violence for 30 years by armed groups, both local and foreign-based, going back to regional wars of the 1990s.