A peace summit scheduled for Sunday to address conflicts in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was canceled.
Angolan President Joao Lourenco was set to host DRC President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame in a bid to ease tensions gripping the eastern DRC.
The DRC Presidency said that the Rwandan delegation refused to participate in the meeting, leading to its cancellation. Tshisekedi arrived in Luanda, the capital of Angola, early Sunday for the summit and met with Lourenco.
According to Rwanda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the ministerial meeting in Luanda Saturday failed to reach a consensus between Rwanda and the DRC regarding a commitment to direct talks with the Congolese rebel group M23.
“This summit would therefore not have resulted in an agreement,” the ministry said in a statement released Sunday, adding that postponing the summit allows more time for dialogue between the M23 and the DRC.
The meeting was part of the Luanda Process, a peace initiative launched in 2022 and endorsed by the African Union, aimed at accelerating stabilization efforts in the region. The Angolan Presidency said Sunday that the summit was “indefinitely postponed at the request of one of the parties.”
The eastern DRC continues to face instability due to the M23 rebel group, which has been advancing and seizing large areas of territory. The DRC government accuses Rwanda of providing military support to the M23, an allegation Kigali denies.
While denying ties to the M23, Rwanda has accused the DRC military of collaborating with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, a Rwandan rebel group whose members are blamed for the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.
