Rwanda, DR Congo ministers hold fifth round of talks in Angola

Rwandan and DR Congo ministers of foreign affairs are once again in Luanda, Angola, to discuss peace and security in eastern DR Congo in a fifth tripartite ministerial meeting held under the Luanda process. The meeting, chaired on Saturday, October 12, by Angolan Minister of Foreign Affairs Téte António, is an African Union-backed initiative. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will hold another Tripartite Ministerial Meeting for Peace and Security in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo this Saturday, October 12th, in Luanda. pic.twitter.com/ZwaeFzh9wF — Ministério das Relações Exteriores/MRE -(Angola) (@angola_Mirex) October 12, 2024 The Luanda process started in mid-2022 to address the Rwanda-DR Congo diplomatic tensions which resulted from the war between the Congolese army and the M23 rebels. ALSO READ: Rwanda, DR Congo foreign ministers meet again in Angola DR Congo’s foreign affairs minister Théresé Kayikwamba Wagner and her Rwandan counterpart Olivier Nduhungirehe are in the Angolan capital for the talks. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will hold another Tripartite Ministerial Meeting for Peace and Security in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo this Saturday, October 12th, in Luanda,” read a post shared by the Angolan ministry of foreign affairs on X. The Congolese government accuses Rwanda of supporting the M23 rebels, an allegation Kigali dismisses, saying the conflict is a result of DR Congo’s internal governance issues and the persecution of Congolese Tutsi communities. ALSO READ: UK supports Luanda, Nairobi peace process – envoy The ongoing meeting follows a fourth meeting of foreign ministers from the two neighbouring countries as well as Angola, the mediator state, that happened last month. Rwanda has continuously expressed its security concerns about the integration of FDLR, a militia linked to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, into the Congolese army. The UN-sanctioned terrorist group accused of spreading genocide ideology and hate speech against the Congolese Tutsi is part a coalition of the Congolese army fighting the M23 rebels in North Kivu province. ALSO READ: US envoy urges DR Congo to uphold Luanda process Kigali says the FDLR not only threatens Rwanda's security but also the security of the wider Great Lakes Region.

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Rwanda, DR Congo ministers hold fifth round of talks in Angola