The M23 have staged a considerable comeback in the eastern DRC this year since they were chased into neighbouring Rwanda and Uganda in 2013.
Tens of thousands have fled fresh fighting that has caused a diplomatic rift between the DRC and Rwanda, which Kinshasa accuses of backing the Tutsi-led group. Rwanda denies any involvement.
Rights groups and military sources have said the M23 is using drone surveillance and the UN has said the group is using sophisticated weaponry and available evidence points to it being backed by Rwanda.
The M23 has also said the Congolese army is fighting alongside other armed groups, a charge that military authorities deny.
More than 3,000 new Congolese military recruits began training earlier this month, after a plea from President Felix Tshisekedi.
Regional efforts are under way to cool tensions between the two countries and end the conflict unfolding along their shared border.
Kenya’s ex-President Uhuru Kenyatta, who has been in the DRC this week before peace negotiations with armed groups took place, said talks in Nairobi would be held before the end of the month – later than the original proposed date of this Wednesday.
“We have not come here with a prescription but rather with the idea of listening to our brothers and sisters and hope to be able to make a contribution towards bringing lasting peace,” he said late on Monday after meeting various stakeholders.
Angolan President Joao Lourenco mediated earlier talks between Congolese and Rwandan officials in Luanda and visited both nations over the past weekend.
Guinea-Bissau President and Chair of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Umaro Sissoco Embalo, has also travelled to Kinshasa and Kigali.
An M23 leader, Bertrand Bisimwa, blamed the DRC’s army for starting a war against the group.
