DR Congo says still open to direct dialogue with the M23 rebels

‘'We are following the logic of the evolution of the conflict and the DRC, at this precise moment, has decided that it is more appropriate for us and above all for our people to engage in this direct discussion with the M23, if this would have the repercussion of a cessation of hostility, a cessation of violence against our civilian populations," the Congolese minister for Foreign Affairs said on Saturday.

'‘It is difficult to predict how a conflict will evolve. We have long maintained that direct negotiations with the M23 should not be our priority or our immediate modus operandi, but the Angolan mediator (President Joao Lourenço) has invited the various parties to meet and discuss," she pointed out, adding that "a conflict evolves in its intensity, in its scope, in its actors too, in the posture of the different actors."

According to her, it would be regrettable to have a government that is unable to contextualise a situation as it evolves, suggesting Kinshasa's position will not be static "but that doesn't mean that certain principles don't remain."

On the ground in North Kivu, the M23/AFC announced that it has withdrawn from some of the areas it recently conquered during the fighting in March.

In a press release issued on Saturday, the M23 political spokesman Lawrence Kanyuka, stated that the decision was meant to foster conditions conducive to peace initiatives and political dialogue addressing the root causes of the conflict in eastern DRC.

 "The M23/AFC has decided to reposition its forces in the town of Walikale and the surrounding area, in accordance with the unilateral ceasefire declared on 22 February 2025," he said.

According to him, M23 are still ‘'committed to a peaceful resolution of the conflict." 

Both postures are the latest positive sign of de-escalation in a war that re-erupted in February and had seen M23 take over two biggest cities in eastern DRC, Goma and Bukavu, and completely encircle the SAMIDRC.

Earlier in the week, Rwanda, accused of backing M23, and the DRC leaders met in Doha, Qatar and agreed on an immediate ceasefire.

Read: Qatar Emir brokers truce between Rwanda, DRC

M23 immediately broke it. The rebels and Congolese government officials had also planned a meeting in Luanda on Tuesday last week, but it failed to occur after rebels pulled a plug, protesting Jew European Union sanctions on leaders of the group.

Now the DRC government is declaring its "determination to put an end to the hostilities as quickly as possible, but also to the suffering of the civilian population."

Since the failed meeting between President Félix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame on 15 December with the mediator, Angolan President Joao Lourenço, the war had worsened.

According to civil society groups in eastern Congo, at least 10,000 people have died in the fighting since then. The number is difficult to verify especially since the area under battle.has also been inaccessible.

The M23 have since gained more territory, including the towns of Goma and Bukavu. On March 18, a meeting intended to open direct dialogue between the M23/AFC and the Congolese government was cancelled at the last minute when the rebels refused to travel to Luanda.

On March 18 in Doha, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda met his Congolese counterpart Félix Tshisekedi with a view to seeking a de-escalation of the war and conflict between the DRC and Rwanda. This meeting may have been the first step towards de-escalation. 

While attending the inauguration of Namibia's President-elect Netumbo Nandi Ndaitwah, President Tshisekedi reacted to the M23/AFC's refusal to take part in the negotiations l, labelling them a proscribed geoup 

"This is a terrorist movement. They want to destroy more than build. Peace is needed to build Africa," he said on Friday.

The conflict in the DRC is not, however, immune from a further U-turn by one of the parties to the conflict.

 At present, ‘the two heads of state, Tshisekedi and Kagame, may have no option but to soften their stance because, they have faced external pressure  to end the war and avoid sanctions.

On one hand, the Congolese head of state is in difficult situation militarily, with teo foreign missions, one from the East African Community, and another from the Southern African Community, failing to serve his interest of ending the menace of M23, and exiting unceremoniously in wuick succession.

Tshisekedi had lampooned EAC forces for refusing to fire on M23 and refused to extend their mandate, forcing them to leave in December 2023. SAMIDRC came in with mandate to fire on M23 but have sinxe reported more losses than EAC forces.

The Rwandan head of state, on his part, is in difficult situation, diplomatically, after a number of his senior military officials and a key company were sanctioned, amid aid cut.