East Africa: Kagame, Tshisekedi Hold Talks in Qatar

President Paul Kagame and his DR Congo counterpart Felix Tshisekedi and the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani held talks in Doha on Tuesday, March 18, as part of efforts to solve the crisis in eastern DR Congo, according to the three countries’ joint statement.

The trilateral summit welcomed the progress made in the Luanda and Nairobi processes, as well as the joint EAC-SADC summit held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on February 8, said the statement published by the Qatari Foreign Ministry said.

Text of Joint Statement

“The Heads of State reaffirmed the commitment of all parties to an immediate and unconditional ceasefire as agreed at the [Dar es Salaam] summit.”

“The Heads of State then agreed on the need to continue the discussions initiated in Doha in order to establish solid foundations for lasting peace as envisioned in the Luanda/Nairobi process, now merged and/or aligned.”

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Rwanda has raised its concerns about DR Congo’s collaboration with the FDLR, a militia linked to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, as well as the Congolese president’s threats to topple Rwandan leaders over allegations that Rwanda supports the AFC/M23 rebels in eastern DR Congo.

The UN-sanctioned FDLR terrorist group, which is part of the Congolese government coalition against the AFC/M23 rebels, has driven persecution of the Congolese Tutsi community. Over the past two decades, the militia has also launched attacks on Rwanda.

Various regional and international efforts to bring peace in eastern DR Congo saw momentum in January after the AFC/M23 rebels took control of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province.

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The rebels have since taken control pf Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu, as they demanded direct talks with Tshisekedi’s government, which had ruled out the possibility of negotiations to end the three-year conflict.

The first chance for direct negotiations collapsed on Tuesday, after the rebels said Monday that sanctions by the European Union undermined the Angolan mediation and encouraged the government coalition to continue military operations.

The Angolan Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that the peace talks had failed due to “force majeure circumstances.”