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Religious Leaders Laud Angolan President for Move to Mediate Talks as War Rages on in DR Congo

Sabrine Amboka

By Sabrine Amboka

Kinshasa, 16 March, 2025 / 8:46 pm (ACI Africa).

Religious leaders in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have lauded the Angolan President for expressing interest to mediate the talks between warrying parties in the Eastern region of the Central African nation, and the entire Great Lakes region.

The President of Angola, João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço, has reportedly confirmed that the direct peace talks between DRC and March 23 Movement (M23) rebels would commence on Tuesday, March 18 in Luanda, the capital city of Angola.

In a communiqué published on March 13, the leadership of the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO) and his Church of Christ in Congo (ECC) counterpart say, “We, the Presidents of  CENCO and ECC…congratulate and support President of the Republic of Angola and current Chairman of the African Union, for his efforts to bring peace to the DRC and the Great Lakes.”

In the communiqué, Archbishop Fulgence Muteba Mugalu and the head of ECC, Rev. Andre Bokodua, welcome the peace-keeping initiative of the Angolan President for “direct dialogue between the delegations of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the leaders of the AFC/M23.”

“This rightly constitutes the prelude to a global and inclusive dialogue aimed at forging a national consensus on the accelerated process of pacification and full recovery of our country,” the religious leaders add in the communiqué dated March 12.

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Activities of M23, a rebel group that has had substantial territorial gains in DRC, have intensified since their January 27 takeover of Goma, the capital of DRC’s Eastern Province.

On February 16, the rebels proceeded to seize Bukavu, the second-largest city of Eastern DRC.

According to a March 14 BBC report, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) leaders have announced the withdrawal of their troops from Eastern DRC. Their soldiers have been supporting the Congolese army in fighting the rebel forces.  

The United Nations has reported that Over 850,000 civilians have been displaced in South Kivu province, nearly half of them children, according to the agency.

According to the March 14 UN report, many of the displaced are living in precarious conditions, sheltering in schools, churches or in the open, lacking clean water and sanitation, healthcare and education. Additionally, grave violations against children have also sharply risen, including sexual violence, killings, maiming and their recruitment by armed groups.

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In the communiqué, the presidents of the two faith groups urge all those involved in the conflict to open “humanitarian corridors” to allow affected individuals access humanitarian aid.

For long-term solutions, they call for genuine national consensus, saying that “there is no viable and lasting military solution to this conflict, which is already thirty years old and which, by bloodying the East of our country, is plunging the whole of the Democratic Republic of Congo into mourning.”

DRC is considering sending representatives to Angola-hosted peace talks with the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels next week, marking its first direct negotiations with the group, two government sources have said in a March 13 Reuters  report.

In the communiqué, leaders of CENCO and ECC thank the President of DRC, Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi, for prioritizing peaceful means of resolving the conflict to restore peace in the Central African nation.

They encourage the heads of state of the SADC and the East African Community (EAC) to support the direct negotiation initiated by President Lourenço.

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On the CENCO-ECC initiative of the “Social Pact for Peace and Harmonious Coexistence in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Great Lakes,” they appreciated African leaders, who offered them hospitality and encouraging support.

They encourage those concerned with peacekeeping mission in DRC and the Great Lakes Region to “commit themselves sincerely to this process of peace negotiations, in a constructive spirit, and to urgently bring together the conditions for an immediate ceasefire with the aim of putting an end to the suffering of the Congolese people.”

The religious leaders urge everyone in DRC, including political actors, other stakeholders, and the Congolese people, to support the upcoming dialogue process in Angola to restore peace in the embattled country and the Great Lakes Region.

“Resolve to diligently pursue our pastoral mission for Peace and Harmonious Co-existence in the DRC and the Great Lakes,” they say and implore, “May the Lord bless the Democratic Republic of Congo and its people.”