The African Union Commission leader Mahamoud Ali Youssouf praised Rwanda's President Paul Kagame and DRC's President Felix Tshisekedi for joining peace talks set up by Qatar. They met with the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani in Doha on Tuesday. This marked their first meeting since M23 rebels ramped up fighting and grabbed the key city of Goma in eastern DRC.
Officials report that rebel attacks since January have killed about 7,000 people. Youssouf liked what he saw at the Doha meeting. He thanked both leaders for showing true leadership toward fixing the crisis peacefully. "Their engagement shows real leadership, and they both know peace and security must exist for their countries and the Great Lakes area to do well," said the AUC chair through his spokesperson.
Both presidents promised an instant ceasefire with no strings attached in eastern DRC. They had agreed to this earlier at a summit between the East African Community and the Southern African Development Community in Dar es Salaam on February 8, 2025. Youssouf stated that the African Union strongly backs African answers to African problems, as seen in the Luanda and Nairobi peace efforts.
He added that the talks in Doha fit with these efforts and helped boost current regional peace plans. "We stress how important it is for the African Union, regional groups, and international friends to work together for lasting peace," he explained. The AUC boss thanked Qatar and the Amir for helping create trust and open talk between the sides.
He asked everyone involved to keep building on what started in Doha. He wants all groups to fully carry out their promises to bring back peace in Eastern DRC. "The AUC stands ready to help these efforts as part of our job to bring peace and stability across Africa," he said. Rwanda and DRC have been blaming each other for supporting the M23 rebel group, which mainly works in North Kivu province near Uganda and Rwanda.
Rwanda says these claims are false and insists its forces act only to defend against DRC army and allied fighters. Peace talks set up by Angola last December fell apart after Rwanda demanded DRC talk directly to M23. The M23 group skipped new peace talks in Angola on Tuesday, raising questions about whether they will follow the "instant ceasefire" deal that Kagame and Tshisekedi reached during their Doha meeting.
Officials report that rebel attacks since January have killed about 7,000 people. Youssouf liked what he saw at the Doha meeting. He thanked both leaders for showing true leadership toward fixing the crisis peacefully. "Their engagement shows real leadership, and they both know peace and security must exist for their countries and the Great Lakes area to do well," said the AUC chair through his spokesperson.
Both presidents promised an instant ceasefire with no strings attached in eastern DRC. They had agreed to this earlier at a summit between the East African Community and the Southern African Development Community in Dar es Salaam on February 8, 2025. Youssouf stated that the African Union strongly backs African answers to African problems, as seen in the Luanda and Nairobi peace efforts.
He added that the talks in Doha fit with these efforts and helped boost current regional peace plans. "We stress how important it is for the African Union, regional groups, and international friends to work together for lasting peace," he explained. The AUC boss thanked Qatar and the Amir for helping create trust and open talk between the sides.
He asked everyone involved to keep building on what started in Doha. He wants all groups to fully carry out their promises to bring back peace in Eastern DRC. "The AUC stands ready to help these efforts as part of our job to bring peace and stability across Africa," he said. Rwanda and DRC have been blaming each other for supporting the M23 rebel group, which mainly works in North Kivu province near Uganda and Rwanda.
Rwanda says these claims are false and insists its forces act only to defend against DRC army and allied fighters. Peace talks set up by Angola last December fell apart after Rwanda demanded DRC talk directly to M23. The M23 group skipped new peace talks in Angola on Tuesday, raising questions about whether they will follow the "instant ceasefire" deal that Kagame and Tshisekedi reached during their Doha meeting.
