African blocs expand mediation team to end M23 rebel offensive in Congo
The political blocs of Southern and Eastern Africa have expanded the mediation team for negotiating an end to the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel offensive in eastern Congo, at a heads of state meeting on Monday that Rwanda described as fruitful.
Diplomatic efforts to resolve eastern Congo's biggest conflict in decades appeared to have stalled last week when the M23 failed to attend peace talks with the Congolese government in Angola, and later captured the strategic town of Walikale.
The violence, rooted in the long fallout from the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and competition for control of mineral riches, has led to rebel control of eastern Congo's two largest cities, thousands of deaths and fears of a wider regional war.
The Southern and Eastern Africa blocs appointed five former heads of state, including Nigeria's Olusegun Obasanjo, South Africa's Kgalema Motlanthe and Ethiopia's Sahle-Work Zewde to 'facilitate' the peace process, they said in a statement early on Tuesday.
Congo's presidency said on X the new panel would appoint a mediator to replace the president of Angola, who withdrew on Monday following years of faltering efforts to ease tensions between Rwanda and Congo.
Rwanda's government, which is facing sanctions and had some aid suspended over its reported provision of arms and troops to M23, said on X the leaders attending Monday's summit 'committed to a political solution that addresses the security concerns of all parties.'
Congo accuses M23 of being a Rwandan proxy. Rwanda denies involvement, but also says its forces are acting in self defense against Congo's army and militias hostile to Kigali.
The Angolan government expressed frustration last week about a surprise meeting arranged by Qatar's emir between Congo President Felix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame, the first face-to-face meeting between the two men since the conflict escalated towards the end of last year.
Tshisekedi and Kagame issued a joint statement along with Qatar that called for an 'immediate and unconditional' ceasefire, but which failed to halt the violence.
M23 withdrew from what could have been its first direct negotiations with Kinshasa last week after the European Union imposed sanctions against rebel and Rwandan officials.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Asharq Al-Awsat
2 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Le Pen, Orban Lambast EU at Far-right Rally in France
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Monday launched scathing attacks on the EU at a rally in France aimed at flaunting the unity and strength of the anti-immigration wing of European politics. Aimed at marking one year since Le Pen's National Rally (RN) crushed opponents to win their best-ever vote share in European elections, the get-together in Mormant-sur-Vernisson south of Paris brought together far-right leaders from across Europe. The mood was buoyant and confident in the wake of Donald Trump's return to the White House earlier this year and strong election results across the continent. Orban, reveling in his self-proclaimed status as the "black sheep of the EU" and "Brussels' nightmare", likened European migration policy to "an organized exchange of populations to replace the cultural base" of the continent. Boasting of having been able to "push back migrants" in his country, even if it meant incurring sanctions from Brussels, Orban told the several thousands present: "We will not let them destroy our cities." Le Pen, in her speech, described the European Union as a "graveyard of politically unfulfilled promises" and termed it "woke and ultra-liberal". "We don't want to leave the table. We want to finish the game and win, to take power in France and in Europe and give it back to the people," she said. Her party previously backed France's exit from the EU. But now it preaches European reform while remaining a member as Le Pen seeks to make the party electable and shake off the legacy of her late father Jean-Marie Le Pen. Other attendees included Italy's Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the League party Matteo Salvini, the leader of Spain's Vox party Santiago Abascal and former Czech premier Andrej Babis. They are all part of the Patriots for Europe faction in the European parliament, one of no less than three competing far-right factions in the chamber. Salvini meanwhile described migration as a "threat" to Europe. "The threat to our children is an invasion of illegal immigrants, mainly Islamists, financed and organized in the silence of Brussels," he affirmed from the podium, calling on European "patriots" to "work together" to "take back control of the destiny and future of Europe." In a sign of the controversy over the meeting, some 4,000 people from the left, hard left and trade unions protested in the nearby town of Montargis, according to organizers, vowing to "build resistance" and proclaiming the far-right leaders were "not welcome". "You have here the worst of the racist and xenophobic European far-right that we know only too well," said French hard-left MEP Manon Aubry. The meeting also comes less than two years ahead of watershed presidential elections in France where President Emmanuel Macron, who has long promoted himself as a bulwark against the far-right, cannot stand again and the RN sees its best ever chance of taking power. But it is far from certain if Le Pen will stand for a fourth time as her conviction earlier this year in a fake jobs scandal disqualifies her from standing from public office. She has appealed. But waiting in the wings is her protege and RN party leader Jordan Bardella, 29, who would stand if Le Pen was ineligible. Bardella, who polls have shown would still be set to win the first round of presidential elections if he stands, is taking care to project his image including a long TV interview with star anchor Karine Le Marchand aimed at showing his softer side. "We reject the Europe of Ursula von der Leyen," Bardella told the rally, referring to the chief of the EU Commission. "We reject the Europe of Macron... We represent the rebirth of a true Europe." As well as Le Pen's legal limbo, the contours of the French 2027 presidential election remain largely unclear, with center-right former prime minister Edouard Philippe the only major player to clearly state he will stand. Orban urged the RN to emerge triumphant from the elections. "Without you, we will not be able to occupy Brussels (...) We will not be able to save Hungary from the Brussels guillotine," said Orban.
Saudi Gazette
3 hours ago
- Saudi Gazette
Iran says it obtained Israel's nuclear secrets without providing proof
TEHRAN — Iran claims it has obtained a large batch of information on Israel's nuclear program, its intelligence minister said on Sunday, without providing any evidence to support it. Speaking to Iranian state television after a cabinet meeting, Esmail Khatib said the Intelligence Ministry had acquired 'an important treasury of strategic, operational and scientific intelligence' from Israel, which he said had been 'transferred into the country with God's help.' Khatib alleged that thousands of documents had been seized, including information related to Europe, the US and other individual countries, though he did not explain how the intelligence was obtained. Khatib, a Shiite cleric who was sanctioned by the US Treasury in 2022 for his alleged involvement in cyber espionage, said the documents would be made public soon. He claimed they were retrieved through 'infiltration' and 'access to sources,' but offered no specifics or proof. The announcement, which came days before Tehran is expected to face renewed diplomatic pressure over its own atomic activities appears to be aimed at countering a high-profile Israeli intelligence operation in 2018. At the time, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his agents had smuggled out a 'half-tonne' of documents from Iran concerning its nuclear operation was cited by US President Donald Trump when he withdrew the US from the 2015 nuclear accord with latest Iranian claims come as the board of governors at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) prepares to meet this week, with Western nations reportedly planning to censure Iran over its failure to clarify long-standing questions about its nuclear a move could lead to the issue being referred to the UN Security Council and potentially trigger the reimposition of UN sanctions under the 'snapback' mechanism outlined in the 2015 has signaled it will reject a US-backed proposal after five rounds of nuclear talks, raising concerns of a renewed is currently enriching uranium up to 60% purity — just short of the 90% level needed for nuclear weapons — and has stockpiled enough material to build several an agreement, analysts warn that Iran's already struggling economy could worsen further, potentially fuelling domestic risk of Israeli or US military action against Iranian nuclear sites also remains, amid fears that Tehran could sever cooperation with the IAEA and dash toward developing a nuclear weapon. — Euronews
Saudi Gazette
16 hours ago
- Saudi Gazette
Rwanda pulls out of regional bloc over DR Congo row
KINSHASA — Rwanda says it is pulling out of a central African regional bloc after a diplomatic row over its involvement in the conflict in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The country was supposed to take up the chairman role of the Economic Community of Central African States (Eccas), which rotates between its 11 members. But it was prevented from doing so at a meeting on Saturday in Equatorial Guinea. Announcing its decision to leave Eccas, Rwanda said its right to take up the "chairmanship... was deliberately ignored in order to impose the DRC's diktat". As a result, it saw "no justification for remaining in an organization whose current functioning runs counter to its founding principles and intended purpose". The row comes as efforts to end the fighting in eastern DR Congo continue. Following US mediation, Rwanda and DR Congo are working on a draft peace plan that is expected to be signed later this to a statement from the Congolese presidency, the Eccas leaders at the summit "acknowledged the aggression against the Democratic Republic of Congo by Rwanda and ordered the aggressor country to withdraw its troops from Congolese soil".It added that until the dispute was resolved, it was decided that Equatorial Guinea would remain in the chairman role "to the detriment of Rwanda".In comments directed at Rwanda, Congolese government spokesman Patrick Muyaya said that "one cannot continually and voluntarily violate the principles that underpin our regional institutions and claim to want to preside over them".He added that the Eccas decision "should inspire other regional organizations to adopt a firmer stance against Rwanda".Rwanda has been accused of supporting M23 rebels in the east of DR Congo. The group has made major advances at the beginning of the year, taking the key regional cities of Goma and Congo's government, the US and France have identified Rwanda as backing the year, a UN experts' report said that up to 4,000 Rwandan troops were fighting alongside the Rwanda has denied the accusations, saying instead that its troops were deployed along its border to prevent the conflict spilling over into its has once before, in 2007, left Eccas, whose mission is to foster cooperation and strengthen regional integration in central Africa. It rejoined several years later. — BBC
