African Union Delegation Holds Talks in Rwanda and Goma as Conflict Escalates in Eastern DRC.
On Wednesday, a delegation of African Union (AU) mediators met with Rwandan President Paul Kagame and with representatives of the Congolese rebel group March 23 Movement (M23) to address the peace process in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
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“This afternoon at Urugwiro Village, President Kagame met with a delegation of members of the AU panel of mediators for the peace process in eastern DRC,” the Rwandan Presidency said.
Among the AU mediators are former Ethiopian President Sahle-Work Zewde, former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and former Botswanan President Mokgweetsi Masisi. During the meeting, both parties spoke about the next steps to achieve a “lasting and stable” peace in eastern Congo, as well as the main causes of the conflict.
The same mediation team met Monday with M23 in the Congolese city of Goma, capital of North Kivu province and under rebel control, and in which the United Nations Mission in the DRC (Monusco), the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Expanded Joint Verification Mechanism Plus (EJVM) also participated.
📽WATCH
AU mediators met with AFC/M23 leaders in Goma on Monday, October 5, 2026, as efforts continue to seek a peaceful resolution to the conflict in eastern DR Congo.
The talks focused on peace efforts and the security situation in the region.#UkweliNews #DRC #AFCM23…
— UKWELITIMES WORLD (@UKWELINEWSWORLD) October 5, 2026
“These meetings provided the opportunity to listen to different perspectives on the peace process, the humanitarian and security situation, and the measures needed to strengthen trust,” the AU said.
The mediators called for “strict respect” of cease-fire commitments, as well as cooperation with the mechanisms for verifying it. They also underscored the “urgent need” to protect the civilian population, prevent sexual and gender-based violence, and guarantee both accountability for violations committed and “safe and unhindered” humanitarian access.
The conflict worsened at the end of January 2025, when M23 took control of Goma and, weeks later, of Bukavu, capital of South Kivu province (east), after clashes with the Congolese Army.
Since Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame signed a peace agreement on Dec. 4, 2025, in Washington in the presence of U.S. President Donald Trump, who ratified the June 2025 pact, both parties have accused each other of violating it.
That agreement adds to the mediation efforts sponsored by Qatar between the Congolese Government and M23, which on Nov. 15, 2025, signed a framework agreement in Doha. Eastern DRC, rich in minerals essential to the technology industry, has experienced since the 1990s a conflict fueled by rebel groups and the Army, despite the deployment of the Monusco mission.
teleSUR/ JF
Source: EFE
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