Angola relinquishes mediator role in DR Congo conflict
Angolan President Joao Lourenco was named mediator by the African Union in 2022 in an attempt to pacify the protracted conflict involving the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group.
A man crosses a road during heavy snowfall in Seoul on 6 February 2025. The M23 armed group and allied Rwandan forces launched a new offensive on Wednesday in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, days before the Rwandan and Congolese presidents are due to attend a crisis summit. Picture: AFP
JOHANNESBURG - Angola announced on Monday it would withdraw from its role as mediator in the conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in order to focus on its presidency of the African Union.
Angolan President Joao Lourenco was named mediator by the African Union (AU) in 2022 in an attempt to pacify the protracted conflict involving the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group, which recently launched a lightning offensive and seized large swathes of land in mineral-rich eastern DRC.
"Angola recognises the need to free itself from the responsibility of mediating this conflict... in order to more comprehensively focus on the general priorities established by the continental organisation," the presidency said in a statement.
The southern African country took up the rotating presidency of the African Union two months ago.
READ: DR Congo ceasefire terms still unclear after surprise summit
Luanda added that "necessary steps" would be taken with the AU Commission to "find the country whose head of state... should take over the mediation".
"Angola has always believed in the need for direct negotiations between the DRC government and the M23," the presidency said.
Since the end of 2021, a half-dozen ceasefires and truces have been brokered before being broken in short order.
Long-awaited peace talks scheduled to be held in Angola's capital on March 18 were cancelled at the eleventh hour when the M23 pulled out following EU sanctions on some of its top brass.
The same day, the government of Qatar unexpectedly announced it had hosted Rwandan President Paul Kagame and his Congolese counterpart Felix Tshisekedi for talks.
The two heads of state, who have long been at odds with each other, "reaffirmed the commitment of all parties to an immediate and unconditional ceasefire", Qatar said in a statement released after the secret meeting.
Referring to the cancelled Luanda talks, the Angolan presidency said the negotiations had been aborted "due to a combination of factors, including some external elements unrelated to the ongoing African process".
Despite the recent attempts to broker a ceasefire, the M23 last week took control of the mining hub of Walikale, the farthest west the group has advanced into the interior of the DRC since 2012.