DAKAR, Senegal (AP) 鈥� The government of Congo will hold peace talks next week in Angola with the Rwanda-backed that has captured key areas of Congo鈥檚 mineral-rich east, mediator Angola announced Wednesday.
A statement from Angolan President Jo茫o Louren莽o's office said the parties would begin 鈥渄irect peace negotiations鈥� in the Angolan capital, Luanda.
Angola has acted as a mediator in the , which escalated in late January when the Rwanda-backed rebels advanced and took control of the strategic eastern Congo city of Goma. In February, , eastern Congo's second biggest city.
Congo President was in Angola on Tuesday to discuss the possibility of peace talks.
鈥淔ollowing the diligence carried out by Angolan mediation in the conflict affecting the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the Government of the Republic of Angola makes public that delegations from the Democratic Republic of Congo and M23 will begin direct peace negotiations, on March 18, in the city of Luanda,鈥� Louren莽o鈥檚 office said in a statement on Wednesday.
The Congolese government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
鈥淲e acknowledge and look forward to the implementation of this Angolan mediation initiative,鈥� Tina Salama, the spokesperson for President Tshisekedi said on social media on Tuesday.
The announcement comes after several peace talks hosted by Angola that had previously excluded M23 and instead focused on their Rwandan backers.
Peace talks between Congo and Rwanda in December after Rwanda made the signing of a peace agreement conditional on a direct dialogue between Congo and the M23 rebels, which Congo refused.
M23 is one of about 100 armed groups that have been vying for a foothold in mineral-rich eastern Congo near the border with Rwanda, in a conflict that has created one of the world鈥檚 most significant humanitarian crises. More than 7 million people have been displaced.
The rebels are supported by about 4,000 troops from neighboring Rwanda, according to U.N. experts, and at times have vowed to march as far as Congo鈥檚 capital, Kinshasa, over 1,000 miles away.
The U.N. Human Rights Council last month , including allegations of rape and killing akin to 鈥渟ummary executions鈥� by both sides.
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AP Africa news:
Monika Pronczuk, The Associated Press
