Direct peace talks between the Democratic Republic of Congo and M23 rebels will begin in the Angolan capital on 18 March, Angola's presidency said in a statement on Wednesday. The Congolese presidency has for now only acknowledged receiving the message.
Angola announced on Tuesday that it would attempt to broker the direct talks.
The Southern African country has been trying to mediate a lasting ceasefire and de-escalate tensions between Congo and neighbouring Rwanda, which has been accused of backing the Tutsi-led rebel group, M23. Rwanda denies those allegations.
Angola pushes for direct talks between Kinshasa and M23 in DRC crisis
Congo's government has until now repeatedly refused to hold direct talks with M23, but on Tuesday it said that it had taken note of the Angolan initiative.
On Wednesday, the spokesperson for Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi, Tina Salama, told media that the government had received an invitation from Angola, but she did not confirm its participation.
Meanwhile, the M23 leader Bertrand Bisimwa boasted in a post on X about forcing Tshisekedi to the negotiating table, calling it "the only civilised option to resolve the current crisis" that has intensified dramatically since January.
More discussions
The situation in eastern DRC is also on the agenda of an extraordinary summit of heads of state of the Southern African region (SADC) this Thursday.
The meeting is held via videoconference and chaired by Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, currently head of SADC.
The objective is to clarify the fate of the regional armed forces deployed in the eastern part of the country.
The rebels have seized the two provincial capitals in eastern Congo, Goma and Bukavu since January in an escalation of a long-running conflict. They're also advancing in smaller villages in the area.
Regional implications
The conflict is rooted in the spillover into Congo of Rwanda's 1994 genocide but also spiralled with the struggle for control of Congo's vast mineral resources.
Eastern Congo is indeed home to vast reserves of strategic minerals such as coltan, cobalt, copper and lithium, resources that are central to the world's race to develop new technology and green energy.
Listen to our podcast: In the DRC, can conflict mineral mining be stopped?
Congo's government has said at least 7,000 people have died in the fighting since January.
At least 600,000 people have been displaced by the fighting since November, according to the UN humanitarian affairs office (Ocha).
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is also concerned about the shrinking civic space in areas controlled by the M23. In a report released on Wednesday, the human rights NGO states that Rwandan-backed rebels have repeatedly pressured and arrested civil society activists and journalists, going so far as to assassinate two of them.
This method, already used in areas occupied by the M23, is now becoming widespread in the provinces of North and South Kivu, sometimes with the help of Rwanda, according to HRW and RFI's correspondents.
Congo's neighbours, including Burundi, Uganda and South Africa have troops in eastern DRC.
Ugandan army deploys to town in northeast DR Congo amid fears of wider conflict
The situation is raising fears of an all-out regional war reminiscent of the Congo wars of the 1990s and early 2000s which killed millions.
(with Reuters)
