President Kiir receieved by Angolan counterpart João Manuel Lourenço in Luanda. March 25, 2024. (Office of the President/Facebook).

President Salva Kiir travelled to Angola on Monday to hold talks with President João Manuel Lourenço on ending conflicts in the Great Lakes region.

Kiir, the head of East African Community landed in Luanda Monday  evening and met President Lourenco to discuss the war in eastern DR Congo and Rwanda-Burundi tension.

His office said in a statement the visit is part of the president’s regional peace tour to meet regional leaders on ways to mitigate escalating conflicts within the region.

Angola, which previously played a mediator role in the DRC conflict, shifted its policy to military intervention in March 2023 after a ceasefire it brokered between rebel militiamen and government troops collapsed.

DRC signed an agreement in December 2023 on the status of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) force that will replace EAC Regional Force that have departed the country.

The 16-nation bloc, which includes South Africa, Angola and Tanzania, backed the deployment “to restore peace and security in eastern DRC”, according to SADC statement.

Prior to the Angola visit, President Kiir met with Congolese president, Felix Tshisekedi to discuss spiraling violence between the army and dozens of rebels – the prominent of which is the M23 militia allegedly backed by Rwanda.

“The two leaders called for urgent adherence to the Nairobi and Luanda peace processes, initiated by the EAC and AU, respectively, in order to restore peace and stability in the region,” Kiir’s office said.

It was reported that President Kiir reaffirmed his commitment as EAC chairperson, to finding a lasting solution to the conflict in the Eastern part of Democratic Republic of Congo and the entire Great Lakes region.

In February, Kiir embarked on the consultative meetings with Rwandan and Burundian presidents amidst heightened tensions in the region.

Renewed fighting between the Congolese army and resurgent M23 rebels has sparked tension with Rwanda and displaced thousands in the North Kivu Province.

Kinshasa accuses Kigali of backing the M23 rebels, an allegation backed by the United States and the United Nations investigations. Rwanda has repeatedly rejected the accusations.

After concluding the three-nation peace tour, President Kiir will then convene an EAC Summit, with the view of mending relations between member states and resolve conflicts in the region.