DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Congo's government and the M23 rebel group will participate in peace talks on March 18, Angola said Wednesday.
A statement from Angolan President João Lourenço's office said they would begin “direct peace negotiations” in the Angolan capital, Luanda.
Angola has acted as a mediator in the conflict in eastern Congo, which escalated in late January when the Rwanda-backed rebels advanced and took control of the strategic eastern Congo city of Goma. M23 seized Bukavu, eastern Congo's second biggest city, last month.
Congo President Felix Tshisekedi visited Angola on Tuesday to discuss the possibility of peace talks.
Planned talks between Congo and Rwanda late last year were unexpectedly canceled.
___
AP Africa news:
The Associated Press