Congo-Kinshasa: Tshisekedi and Kagame Meet in Qatar for Crisis Talks On Eastern DRC

The face-to-face meeting between Felix Tshisekedi and Paul Kagame took place on Tuesday in Qatar, mediated by the emir, in an attempt to find a solution to the security crisis in eastern DRC.

Kinshasa accuses its neighbour of supporting the M23 rebellion, which has seized large parts of the South and North Kivu provinces. These accusations are supported by several United Nations reports, but denied by Kigali.

Since then, various attempts have been made by regional organisations and mediators to revive dialogue between the two leaders. This has now been accomplished.

According to sources talking to RFI’s Africa service, the meeting began at 4pm in Doha (1pm UTC) and lasted about 45 minutes in an atmosphere deemed “cordial,” largely thanks to the involvement of the emir, who had already tried in January 2023 to organise a meeting between the two presidents. That meeting was cancelled at the last minute.

Tresor Kibangula of the Ebuteli Institute for Political Analysis told RFI that Western sanctions and pressure are beginning to weigh on Kagame, and that Tshisekedi has finally come around to the idea of negotiating with the M23, which he had previously rejected. That is because the balance of power on the ground has changed since the armed group conquered Goma and Bukavu, he said.

Call for a ceasefire

The presidents of Rwanda and DRC have expressed their support for a ceasefire after holding the talks just hours after the planned peace talks in Angola failed.

A source close to the Congolese presidency said that the meeting was kept “secret” until Tshisekedi boarded a plane back to Kinshasa.

“The heads of state reaffirmed the commitment of all parties to an immediate and unconditional ceasefire” as agreed at an African summit last month, according to a statement issued by the three countries.

The “fruitful meeting helped build confidence in a shared commitment to a secure and stable future for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the region”, it added.

Another statement from the Rwandan presidency later on Tuesday confirmed that the leaders had discussed the urgent need for “direct political dialogue” with all parties to address “the root causes of the conflict in Eastern DRC”.

It added: “President Kagame expressed his belief that with all parties working together, things can move forward faster,” the statement added.

His spokesperson Tina Salama posted on social media that an “immediate and unconditional ceasefire has just been agreed between the DRC and Rwanda”.

“The details of the implementation of what has been agreed will be worked out in the coming days”, the communication unit of the Congolese presidency later added.

Sanctions on Rwanda

Earlier Tuesday, Angola had said peace talks had been cancelled after the M23 group withdrew at the last minute.

The group on Monday had accused “certain international institutions” of “deliberately sabotaging peace efforts”, referring notably to sanctions imposed by the European Union.

“The successive sanctions imposed on our members, including those adopted on the eve of the discussions in Luanda, seriously compromise direct dialogue and prevent any advance,” it said.

The group also denounced Kinshasa’s “bellicose campaign”, saying that “under these conditions, the holding of talks has become impossible. As a result, our organisation will not be able to take part in the discussions”.

It follows the European Union sanctioning three Rwandan military commanders and its mining agency chief over their support for armed fighters in the eastern DRC as well as senior members of the M23, including its head, Bertrand Bisimwa.

Rwanda says cutting diplomatic ties with Belgium, as EU announces sanctions

Military advance

The M23 claims to defend the interests of Congolese Tutsis in the DRC.

Since January, it has seized the key cities of Goma and Bukavu in a lightning advance that has killed more than 7,000 people, according to the DRC.

Rwandan-backed M23 gains in eastern DRC spark UN warnings and regional fears

News organisations have not been able to verify the figure independently.

A report by United Nations experts has said Kigali effectively controls the M23 and has around 4,000 troops backing it in order to exploit the region’s valuable minerals such as gold and coltan.

Rwanda denies providing the M23 with military assistance but says it faces a threat in the DRC’s east from the FDLR group, founded by ethnic Hutu leaders involved in the 1994 Rwandan genocide of the Tutsis.

The last time the Congolese government and the M23 held talks was in 2013.

By RFI website.