Rwanda’s Paul Kagame urges Congo to negotiate with M23 rebels after they seize strategic towns
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President Paul Kagame of Rwanda urged Congolese authorities Thursday to negotiate with a violent rebel group that has seized key towns in eastern Congo in recent days, widening its control over the region which borders Rwanda. M23 is the most prominent of the more than 100 armed groups vying for a foothold in the mineral-rich area near the Congolese border with Rwanda where more than 1 million people were displaced by fighting last year. Last month it captured the towns of Katale and Masisi, the latter located 80 kilometers (49 miles) west of the regional capital, Goma, a strategic entry point into the Congolese interior.
Kagame told reporters in the Rwandan capital of Kigali that failure to talk directly to M23 rebels means an unwillingness to find a political solution to the conflict. “There has to be an effort to continue finding a solution,” Kagame said. “The solution lies in internal political process, or dialogue.”.
Congo accuses Rwanda of backing M23 and has repeatedly rejected Kagame's advice to negotiate with the rebels. United Nations experts estimate there are up to 4,000 Rwandan forces in Congo. The rebel group rose to prominence a decade ago when its fighters seized Goma, which borders Rwanda. It derives its name from a March 23, 2009, peace deal it accuses the Congolese government of not implementing. After lying largely dormant for a decade, M23 resurfaced in late 2021 and has since captured wide swathes of territory in eastern Congo.
