In a statement released on Saturday by the Angolan presidency's press services, João Lourenço, who has been acting as a mediator in the peace process, called on the parties in conflict to cease hostilities as of midnight on Sunday.
"The ceasefire must include all possible hostile actions against the civilian population and the conquest of new positions in the conflict area, with the aim that these and other initiatives will lead to the creation of a climate of détente that will favour the start of peace talks to be held soon in Luanda, between the Democratic Republic of Congo and the M23", says the note.
The talks, mediated by Luanda, are due to take place in the capital on March 18, marking the first time that the DR Congo government has agreed to negotiate directly with the M23 rebels, who Kinshasa says are supported by Rwanda and who have been advancing into Congolese territory.
On Friday, João Lourenço received at the Presidential Palace in Luanda a special envoy from his Congolese counterpart, Félix Tshisekedi, who did not make any statements to the press.
No details were released about the meeting, which will be related to security and stability issues in eastern DR Congo.
The M23 armed group took up arms again in 2021, supported by Rwandan troops, according to UN experts, and captured the two main cities in the eastern region of the DR Congo, Goma and Bukavu (provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu), in a lightning offensive against the country's army, in the last two months.
The eastern DR Congo, rich in mineral resources, has been devastated over the past three decades by several conflicts.
Since 2021, the M23 movement has taken over vast swathes of territory in the mining provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu, which are also rich in coltan, the mineral from which tantalum is extracted, essential for the manufacture of modern electronic equipment.
In April 2024, it took control of the Rubaya mine in North Kivu, the largest coltan mine in the DRCongo.
