Congo And Rwanda Presidents Hold Rare Talks In Qatar As M23 Rebels Advance In Congo

In a dramatic diplomatic initiative, Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame sat down in Qatar on Tuesday for their first ever face-to-face talks since the M23 rebels redoubled their attack in eastern Congo at the start of this year. The talks, brokered by Qatar’s Emir, were intended to calm rising tensions and urge a ceasefire, a joint statement issued by the three governments stated.

The fighting in eastern Congo has deteriorated since January, with the M23 rebels capturing two of the region’s biggest cities. Congo has blamed Rwanda for arming and deploying troops to assist M23, but Rwanda denies its troops are there to back M23, saying they are defending themselves against Congo’s military and hostile militias.

Peace brokering efforts have been frustrated. Another meeting in Angola aimed at sitting down Congolese authorities and M23 leaders also broke up after the rebels pulled out at the eleventh hour. But talks in Qatar led to a consensus on calling for an “immediate and unconditional ceasefire,” with leaders saying they would commit to further negotiations.

A diplomat close to the talks characterized them as “informal” and not meant to supplant current efforts at mediation. The long-running conflict, which is embedded in the legacy of Rwanda’s 1994 genocide and the race for eastern Congo’s rich mineral resources, has displaced hundreds of thousands of people and killed thousands.

Qatar has increasingly served as a mediator in global conflicts, most recently joining Egypt and the US to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, which broke down on Tuesday. The result of its intervention in the Congo-Rwanda crisis is unclear, but the direct communication between Tshisekedi and Kagame is an important step towards de-escalation.