Il Nuovo Postiglione - Rwanda, DRC presidents hold surprise ceasefire talks in Qatar

Rwandan leader Paul Kagame and DRC President Felix Tshisekedi met Tuesday with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, a statement from the three countries said.

The Rwanda-backed M23 armed group launched an offensive in the mineral-rich east of the DRC earlier this year, taking two major cities.

"The heads of state reaffirmed the commitment of all parties to an immediate and unconditional ceasefire" as agreed at an African summit last month, the statement said.

The "fruitful meeting... helped build confidence in a shared commitment to a secure and stable future for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the region", it added.

A statement from the Rwandan presidency late Tuesday confirmed the meeting had taken place, saying the leaders had discussed the urgent need for "direct political dialogue" with all parties to address "the root causes of the conflict in Eastern DRC".

"President Kagame expressed his belief that with all parties working together, things can move forward faster," the statement added.

The DRC also confirmed the meeting, with a source close to the Congolese presidency saying it was kept "secret" until Tshisekedi boarded a plane back to Kinshasa.

The presidency later confirmed the meeting, with spokesperson Tina Salama posting on X that an "immediate and unconditional ceasefire has just been agreed between the DRC and Rwanda".

"The details of the implementation of what has been agreed will be worked out in the coming days", the communication unit of the Congolese presidency later added.

Earlier Tuesday, Angola said peace talks had been cancelled after the M23 group withdrew at the last minute.

The group on Monday had accused "certain international institutions" of "deliberately sabotaging peace efforts", referring notably to sanctions imposed by the European Union.

"The successive sanctions imposed on our members, including those adopted on the eve of the discussions in Luanda, seriously compromise direct dialogue and prevent any advance," it said.

The group also denounced Kinshasa's "bellicose campaign", saying that "under these conditions, the holding of talks has become impossible. As a result, our organisation will not be able to take part in the discussions".

It follows the European Union sanctioning three Rwandan military commanders and its mining agency chief over their support for armed fighters in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo as well as senior members of the M23, including its head, Bertrand Bisimwa.

- Lightning advance -

Since January, the M23, which claims to defend the interests of Congolese Tutsis, has seized the key cities of Goma and Bukavu in a lightning advance that has killed more than 7,000 people, according to the DRC.

AFP has not been able to verify the figure independently.

A report by United Nations experts has said Kigali effectively controls the M23 and has around 4,000 troops backing it in order to exploit the region's valuable minerals such as gold and coltan.

Rwanda denies providing the M23 with military assistance but says it faces a threat in the DRC's east from the FDLR group, founded by ethnic Hutu leaders involved in the 1994 Rwandan genocide of the Tutsis.

The last time the Congolese government and the M23 held talks was in 2013.

E.Scozzafava--INP