Angola says in favor of talks over DR Congo conflict

Angola stands for the principle of dialogue for a peaceful solution of the conflict in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), a press release from the Angolan Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.Angolan Defense Minister Candido Pereira dos Santos Van-Dunem reiterated the stand on the sidelines of a summit of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) held on Monday in the Ugandan capital Kampala.The Angolan defense chief was attending the meeting of his CIRGL counterparts to analyze the security situation in the eastern region of DR Congo. The ICGLR defense ministers assessed the implementation of decisions from the last meeting held, also in Kampala on September 7-8, for the deployment of international neutral forces alongside the eastern border of DR Congo, according to the press release.The Angolan delegation was composed of Angolan Ambassador to Tanzania and Uganda Ambrosio Lukoki, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Angolan Armed Forces Egidio de Sousa Santos and senior officers from the ministries of defense and foreign affairs.In September, Congolese Defense Minister Alexandre Loba Ntambo urged member states to use their experiences to ensure the eradication of all rebel forces, including M23 mutineers, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FLDR), the Burundian rebels active within the Congolese territory, the Ugandan rebels of the Alliance of Defense Forces-National Army for the Liberation of Uganda (ADF-NALU) and the Mai-Mai militia.ICGLR brings together 11 countries including Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, Kenya, Uganda, DR Congo, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia.