Peace talks between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, scheduled for Sunday, have been called off unexpectedly, the Congolese president said. 

The rare face-to-face meeting between the central African leaders in Angola was organized to ease tensions between the two neighbors over an almost three-year insurgency by M23 rebels.

The talks were due to be attended by Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwanda's President Paul Kagame.

Tshisekedi, who flew to Angola's capital Luanda for the meeting, was due to hold bilateral talks with Angolan President Joao Lourenco instead.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Congo's presidency blamed the cancelation on the refusal of the Rwandan delegation to take part.

Congo refused Rwanda's latest condition for peace

On Saturday, Rwanda had made the signing of a peace agreement conditional on the organization of a direct dialogue between Congo and the M23 rebels, which Congo refused, the presidency added.

Rwanda's foreign minister confirmed the meeting had been postponed, but made no further comment.

Since 2021, M23 rebels have seized swathes of the eastern DRC. M23 is one of about 100 armed groups that have been vying for a foothold in mineral-rich eastern Congo.

The conflict in North Kivu province has displaced more than 7 million people, creating one of the world's largest humanitarian crises.

There are also concerns that the conflict could spread across Africa's Great Lakes region akin to two devastating wars between 1996 and 2003 that cost millions of lives.

There had been high hopes that the summit hosted by Angola's President Joao Lourenco — the African Union mediator in the conflict — would end with a deal to bring the fighting to a close.

The Congolese government and the United Nations have accused Rwanda of backing the M23 rebels, which the Rwandan government denies.

But in February, Kigali admitted that it has troops and missile systems in eastern Congo to safeguard its security, pointing to a buildup of Congolese forces near the border.

UN experts estimate there are up to 4,000 Rwandan forces in Congo, with "de facto control" over M23 operations.

Ceasefire lasted three months

In early August, Angola mediated a fragile truce that stabilized the situation, but clashes have intensified since late October.

A peace plan, agreed upon last month, called on Rwanda to dismantle its forces in exchange for Congo eliminating a Hutu rebel group that had attacked Tutsis in both countries.

Kagame and Tshisekedi last saw each other in October in Paris and have maintained dialogue through the mediation of Angola.

The capital of DRC's North Kivu province Goma is now nearly surrounded by M23 rebels and the Rwandan army.

On Friday, Congo's army accused M23 of killing 12 civilians in several villages in the east.

An M23 spokesperson told The Associated Press it denied the accusation, discrediting it as "propaganda" from Congo's government.

mm/jcg (AFP, AP, Reuters)