Angolan President Joao Lourenco has called for warring parties in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to return to peace talks, following the collapse of negotiations last year, according to a statement from the country’s foreign ministry.
“The conflict and security challenges in the east of the DRC cannot be resolved through military means,” the ministry said, urging the parties to resume negotiations without delay.
Since the failure of Angola-led peace talks late last year, the M23 militia, supported by Rwandan troops, has captured large areas of the mineral-rich eastern DRC. This has led to a growing humanitarian crisis as M23 forces close in on Goma, a provincial capital home to over a million people.
The statement from Angola warned that the ongoing attacks are escalating the conflict dangerously, with severe consequences for the already fragile humanitarian situation, especially around Goma, which is now under siege. Lourenco “strongly condemns and repudiates these reckless actions by the M23 and its supporters,” the statement added, noting that these actions threaten the progress made in the Luanda Process, which was aimed at a peaceful resolution, and could destabilize regional security.
As fighting intensifies, foreign nationals, including US, British, and French citizens, have been urged to leave Goma while airports and borders remain open, through both online statements and direct communications.
The United Nations mission in the DRC, MONUSCO, confirmed on Friday that its peacekeepers are actively engaged in combat with the M23.
Angola had previously brokered a fragile truce in August that helped stabilize the frontline, but M23 resumed its attacks soon after, and peace talks scheduled for December were abruptly canceled.
