The Community of East African states (EAC) announced on Sunday that the next set of peace talks on the situation in Eastern DRC will take place in Nairobi Kenya.
East African leaders have announced peace talks in a bid to stabilise the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where M23 rebels clashed with troops just north of the key city of Goma over the weekend.
The seven-nation East African Community stated on Sunday that it would hold a “peace dialogue” on November 21 in the Kenyan capital Nairobi.
The announcement came as Congolese troops clashed again with the M23, north of the volatile region’s main city Goma, officials said.
Army sources said the military was engaging the M23 in Mwaro, a village about 20 kilometres north of the important commercial hub of one million people.
M23 rebels have recently surged across the DRC’s North Kivu province, winning a string of victories against the Army and capturing swathes of territory.
On Saturday, the group accused the Congolese army of retaliating with “barbarian bombings” killing 15 civilians, including two children.
The latest violence comes one day after Kenyan troops deployed to eastern DRC, as part of a peacekeeping operation from the EAC bloc.
The Announcement of peace talks in Kenya follows a meeting on Friday between Angolan president Jaoa Lourenco and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame.
On Saturday, Lourenco met with the Congolese Head of State Felix Tshisekedi.
The EAC peace facilitator for eastern DRC, former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, and the Burundian president Evariste Ndayishimiye arrived in Kinshasa on Sunday for a two-day visit.
Background
The M23, a mostly Congolese Tutsi group, first leapt to prominence in 2012 when it briefly captured Goma before being driven out and going to ground.
The group re-emerged in 2021, taking up arms again on claims that the DRC had failed to honour a promise to integrate them into the army, among other grievances.
The M23 resurgence has cratered relationships between the DRC and its smaller neighbour Rwanda, which Kinshasa accused of backing the militia.
Despite official denials from Kigali, a confidential UN report, seen in August by AFP, points to Rwandan involvement with the M23. US officials have also suggested that the Rwandan army is also helping the rebels.
Kinshasa expelled Rwanda’s ambassador at the end of last month, as the M23 captured more territory while also recalling its envoy from Kigali.
The ratcheting tensions have spurred a bout of diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis.
The EAC peace facilitator for eastern DRC, former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, and the Burundian president Evariste Ndayishimiye arrived in Kinshasha on Sunday for a two-day visit.
