Kiir to hold face-to-face talks with Kagame, Tshisekedi on DRC conflict

Author: Baria Johnson | Published: Friday, April 5, 2024

President Salva Kiir. (Office of the President).

President Salva Kiir will hold a summit with the leaders of Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo within April 2024 in a bid to resolve conflict between the two countries, the government spokesperson said.

Kiir, who is the head of East African Community, jetted to DRC on 24th March 2024 and held talks with his counterpart Felix Tshisekedi on ending the conflicts between Congolese military and Rwandan-backed M23 rebels in the country’s east.

From there, the president also headed to Angola, a key player in resolving the regional conflict, and met his counterpart João Lourenço in Luanda.

That peace mission followed similar trips to Rwanda and Burundi in February, where Kiir discussed regional peace and security with presidents Paul Kagame and Evariste Ndayishimye.

Information Minister Michael Makuei said on Friday the president will conclude the regional peace missions with a summit this month – without indicating specific date and venue.

Makuei told reporters after a Council of Ministers meeting in Juba, that decision was agreed during the president’s visits.

“The main objective of the mission was to address the dispute between DRC and Rwanda, and they agreed that the president within this month calls for a joint meeting of the two heads of states in order to resolve that,” he said.

“They agreed that there should be a meeting between the presidents of DRC and Rwanda because of the conflict that is between the two countries.”

“His visit was on 24th of March and in 25th he left for Angola and met with the president of Angola and after he came back to the Republic of South Sudan.”

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

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.

Meanwhile, Burundi also closed its borders with Rwanda on January 11, 2024, accusing its neighbor of funding rebel attacks.

This came after Red Tabara, a Burundian rebel group, killed 20 people near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, in December 2023.

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.