The African Union has commended the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda for their dedication to dialogue in peace discussions held in Qatar. [Getty]
The African Union on Wednesday welcomed peace talks that took place a day earlier in Qatar between the leaders of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda, calling on the parties to maintain the momentum.
Qatar unexpectedly announced that it had hosted Rwandan President Paul Kagame and his Congolese counterpart Felix Tshisekedi for talks on Tuesday, though the terms of a possible ceasefire remained unclear.
“The chairperson commends the statesmen of the DRC and Rwanda for their commitment to dialogue and peaceful resolution of the crisis in eastern DRC,” the organisation said in a statement attributed to newly elected African Union head Mahmoud Ali Youssouf.
“Their engagement reflects true leadership and a shared recognition that peace, security and stability are indispensable for the prosperity of their nations and the wider Great Lakes region,” the African Union statement said.
It urged all stakeholders to “maintain the momentum generated in Doha” and build on the leaders’ commitment “to an immediate and unconditional ceasefire”.
Fighting in the mineral-rich east of the DRC recently intensified with the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group launching a lightning offensive and capturing two provincial capitals within a few weeks.Â
M23 fighters seize key DR Congo town
Despite Tshisekedi and Kagame holding surprise talks in Doha on Tuesday, expressing their support for a ceasefire, M23 has taken control of the mining hub of Walikale in DR Congo, local sources told news agency AFP Thursday.
the terms of any truce remain unclear, with mediator Qatar saying further negotiations were necessary.
“Walikale-centre is occupied by the M23… We retreated to avoid human losses,” an officer in the DRC’s military (FARDC) told AFP, saying its forces were now around 30 kilometres (20 miles) away in Mubi.
A separate security source confirmed the capture and also said fighting took place in Mubi on Thursday.
The offensive had already caused mining group, Alphamin, this month to evacuate its employees and halt operations at the world’s third most productive tin mine.
The Bisie site produces the tin ore cassiterite and is located in the Walikale district of North Kivu province.
The halt in mining drove up prices of tin, while concerns rise over the supply chain of the valuable metal used to solder electronic components onto printed circuit boards.
The boom in the electronics and renewable energy sectors is fuelling growing demand, according to analysts.
The region also has several gold mines.
The M23 fighters “are in the neighbourhoods of Walikale”, Fiston Misona, a civil society representative from the community, said early Thursday.
Another resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they saw groups of armed fighters “through the windows” of their house.
A Doctors Without Borders (MSF) base was “caught in the crossfire” during the fighting but no injuries were reported, local official Marco Doneda said.
“The MSF team is concerned about the influx of those wounded in the coming days and hours,” he said.
